


Field Trips are Boring!

by CarlyCo



Series: Little Leo the Lion [1]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012), DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV), Supergirl (TV 2015), The Flash (TV 2014), Young Justice (Comics)
Genre: Caught, Earth-3, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff and Crack, Future Fic, Heist, Kid Fic, M/M, Mild Angst, Nightmares, Pre-Slash, Super Husbands, Timey-Wimey
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-15
Updated: 2017-08-20
Packaged: 2018-05-20 15:26:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 33
Words: 76,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6014050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CarlyCo/pseuds/CarlyCo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Len realizes that the apple doesn't fall far from the Snart Family tree when the team needs to stage a heist in Central City-circa 2024. He runs into a family member that loves mischief almost as much as he does. He also gets a kiss from Barry Allen. Barry Snart? Barry Allen-Snart? The Flash. Just call him the Flash or Captain Cold's smoking hot husband.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Time is a Fickle Mistress

**Author's Note:**

> This story sort of just popped into my head yesterday afternoon and I had to write it. Leo has an origin story that I have been writing for a few months but you can read this story without that one.

_ Time is a fickle mistress.  _ Leonard never gave that saying very much thought until now. Traipsing through time with a rag-tag band of misfits presented a unique set of challenges. From one week to the next, they often caused more chaos than they helped to stop.

In some cases, the team had to delay the next phase of their plan because they had to smooth out the ripples they inadvertently made in time. It wasn’t that the group was woefully ill-equipped for the job. Frankly, Rip Hunter chose his team well despite his blatantly disrespectful reasoning. Each member of the team brought an essential skill set. Unfortunately, they hadn’t mastered working together as a team just yet.

Part of the conflict was because there was no true leader. No one really trusted Rip to lead the team after he lied to everyone in the beginning. Their mission wasn’t sanctioned. They were time fugitives with a high-tech mode of transportation. As they recently learned, the Time Masters would most assuredly kill them if given the opportunity. The only way out of this debacle was through it. They needed a true leader for any chance at success against Vandal Savage and the Time Masters. 

Raymond was a brilliant scientist and successful business executive but he was little help in the seedier matters. His milquetoast appearance was bound to give him away every time.

Sara and Kendra were both great in a fight. They were warriors after all. Unfortunately, they could become unhinged at exactly the wrong moment and blow the whole operation.

Mick was perhaps the best criminal he knew. He was loyal to Leonard in a way that only Lisa had been previously. The man was always calm under pressure. However, Mick was…insane. Leonard cared deeply for his friend and partner in crime but there was just no other way to describe the big lug. 

Jax was too young and Professor Stein was too old. Moreover, Leonard just didn’t think it was a good idea to pass the responsibility of leading the team on to an entity that became a dual personality person during fights (see: Kendra and Sara).

Len was the obvious choice for team leader. He was a natural born killer but he wasn’t insane. He could navigate the seedy underbelly of the criminal world as well as he could navigate the tedious soirees hosted by the rich and famous. Moreover, he was perhaps the most trusted person on Hunter’s ship. He enjoyed the irony of that. Perhaps it was his truce with the Flash or more likely, it was his complete honesty. Len was going to steal stuff and on occasion kill people that needed killing. There was no hero in him and he wasn’t asking anyone else to be a hero.

Alas, Rip wasn’t willing to see reason since it was his stolen time ship after all. Len would just have to wait for a mutiny to rise up amongst the crew. It was already brewing even without his intervention. Well, it wasn’t completely without his intervention. 

Len might have purposefully left Rip to his own devices on this particular mission. The man claimed to know so much and to be the best person to lead this team. Len was going to let him prove or disprove it all on his own. The team was casing a museum for a heist the following night while Leonard went to a different museum to do a little reconnaissance of his own. Currently, they were in Central City—2024.

Leonard was incredibly interested in the De Leon collection. It was a collection of four watercolor paintings depicting the different stages of the human lifespan in juxtaposition with the four seasons. The paintings were haunting and soulful. More importantly, the collection was worth an obscene amount of money.

Leonard learned from Gideon that the collection was to be stolen tonight on its last full day in Central City. He couldn’t help but to think it was a bit of serendipity that he was here today. If the collection was supposed to be stolen on exactly this date…it couldn’t matter too much who did the stealing. Could it?

He was idly looking at a completely unrelated painting when he felt someone’s eyes on him. It wasn’t the first time he’d gotten that feeling this afternoon. Leonard knew security couldn’t have divined his intentions. Furthermore, he made sure that he wasn’t wanted by the police at this particular point in time. His criminal status was always something he asked Gideon to check on when they landed during his approximate lifespan. Leonard really couldn’t afford to get arrested for a crime he hadn’t done yet or had already done sometime in the past.  Being arrested and stranded in a time where he already existed could be problematic to say the least.

Leonard casually walked upstairs to the second floor of the museum. He could make a quick escape if necessary. Leonard had already scouted the fire exit that one of the security guards was using to sneak in smoke breaks.

Moreover, the second floor would also give him a better vantage point to figure out who had been watching him. The second floor wasn’t as crowded because the paintings on this floor belonged to the museum thus they were always in residence. There were several groups of schoolchildren on the main floor. It seemed that they too were here to see the De Leon collection before it left their fair city. He leaned against the chrome banister and looked out onto the masses on the main floor.

He frowned deeply and his eyebrows furrowed when no one immediately caught his attention. Len was certain that he was being watched by someone. He was always hyper vigilant of his surroundings. It was a skill that came in handy in his line of work and growing up in the house with an abusive psychopath like Lewis Snart.

Len started to relax because if it was security they would have already made a move on him. Perhaps he just caught someone’s eye. It was known to happen on occasion. Leonard did cut a striking figure.

He was about to continue his walk-thru of the museum when he felt eyes on him once again. He spun around ready for a fight but stopped short seeing a little boy standing in front of him in a Flash t-shirt, denim jeans, blue parka and a Flash bookbag.

The little boy had bright blue eyes and an unruly mop of chocolate brown hair. Judging by his height, he couldn’t have been more than six or seven years old. The boy was practically beaming up at Len. The boy rushed him before Leonard had time to think or move out of the way.

Len blinked in shock as the little boy hugged his waist. Obviously, the kid was confused. He needed to get the hell out of here before this kid brought unwanted attention to him. Someone would come looking for their little lost sheep eventually.

“Uncle Lenny! What are you doing here? Are you gonna steal somethin’ cool?” The question was whispered quietly.

Len’s mouth gaped open for a moment. He pried the boy’s arms off him gently and took a knee in front of him. “I think you’ve got the wrong person, kid. Maybe you should get back to your class. Your teacher will be missing you. Wouldn’t want you to get in trouble.”

The boy blinked at Len for a moment and asked, “Why do you look young?”

Leonard actually laughed at that. At 43 years old, no one would call him young anymore—well, Professor Stein was an exception but the man was ancient in his own right. Although, technically Kendra had them all beat by several lifetimes.

The boy brought his hand up to show that he was now holding Len’s wallet. He opened it and giggled at the fake name on the driver’s license. 

Leonard was briefly shocked. He hadn’t felt a bit of movement when the kid picked his pocket. Len was grudgingly impressed. He smirked. “Who taught you that?”

“You did, Uncle Lenny.” The boy pouted for a moment. He didn’t understand why his uncle was pretending that he didn’t know him. This wasn’t the first time he stumbled across his uncle in the middle of a job.

He ruffled the boy’s hair to make him smile again. “What’s your name, kid?”

The boy proudly puffed out his chest. “Leo S. Ramon!”

Len almost lost his footing but a wide grin spread across his face. He could assume that Lisa’s pregnancy had been a resounding success. Now that he could accept who this little boy really was, he could see some of Lisa’s more prominent features. Sure Leo had Cisco’s complexion but those wide eyes and mischievous smile were all his little sister. He asked, “How old are you, kid? Seven?”

Leo looked terribly offended. He shook his head. “I’m 8! Why are you acting so weird? It’s like that time when Uncle Barry ran too fast and ended up here by accident.” He might have been eight years old but he had a criminal mastermind and a genius for parents. He was well acquainted with logic and circumstances out of the ordinary. The light bulb went off in his head. He whispered, “Oh! Are you on a mission from the past?”

Len chuckled as he slowly got his feet. “No. Everyone else is on a mission. I’m taking a little me time.”

Leo grinned. “Cool! Can I help?”

“Help do what?’ asked Leonard coyly. He wasn’t sure that telling the kid that he was casing the joint was the responsible thing to do. 

“You’re gonna steal something, right? I know the perfect one. It’s my favorite. Come on!” Leo raced across the floor not bothering to wait around to see if his uncle would follow him.

Leonard smiled wryly and walked behind the kid as he weaved through the sparse crowd. He stifled a chuckle when he saw the picture Leo called his favorite. It was a portrait of Captain Cold and the Flash surrounded by a massive wall of fire. The two men stood back to back in their disguises while they saved the city.

“This is your favorite?” asked Len, his eyebrow rose skeptically.

Leo nodded eagerly. “Cause it’s my two favorite uncles.” He frowned and said, “Don’t tell Uncle Mick or Uncle Jax.”

Len smirked. “Your secret is safe with me.” He had so many questions he wanted to ask little Leo about his time. However, he had learned enough these last few weeks about having too much foreknowledge. Len listened distractedly as his nephew prattled on about the painting and why the Flash was awesome. He was glad to hear that his sister was still happy with Cisco.

Leo grabbed Len’s hand and pulled hard. “I’m hungry.”

“Yeah? Don’t they feed you little monsters on field trips?” asked Len. However, amusement tinged his words.

He nodded. “My class is at lunch right now but I came to hang out with you. My teacher won’t even notice I’m gone until she does a head count after lunch. She’s not really good at keeping up with me.”

Len couldn’t hold back the laugh. Yeah, Leo was most definitely a Snart. They were notorious for vanishing into thin air. “Let’s get lunch. I’m buying. I noticed a decent restaurant across the street on my way in. But after lunch I’m taking you home.”

“Or you could take me on the time ship. That would be an awesome field trip…this one was boring. Everyone just talked about how pretty all the pictures were. No one cared about the pressure sensors behind the frames or the obvious hole in the security guard’s patrol.”

Len raised an eyebrow and chuckled. At least no matter what happened in the future Lisa was raising his nephew the right way.


	2. Uncle versus Uncle

Len knew he should have taken the kid home an hour ago. However, he was just having too much fun. Somehow, the little circle Cisco showed him on that grainy sonogram picture a few months ago turned into this walking, talking, tornado of an amazing little human. 

He was obviously the best parts of Lisa and Cisco blended nearly seamlessly. He was smart, funny, geeky, a damn good pickpocket, and mischievous. However, Len was most heartened by the fact that the kid was loved. 

It showed in the way his eyes lit up as he talked about everything under the sun. Len and Lisa were never allowed to have that sort of life…he was glad that the future was kinder to his nephew.

He could easily see that Leo was used to having everyone wrapped around his little finger. The boy had smiled cheekily when Len grudgingly agreed to take him to the comic bookstore after lunch. It was the only way to convince the kid that he couldn’t help him on his heist tonight or visit the time ship. 

Currently, he was holding a stack of comic books and action figures that Leo just had to have. He was about to call an end to the shopping spree because it really was getting late in the afternoon. Surely, the teacher would have missed Leo by now. Frankly, he planned to make time to have a word with the teacher. She was terrible at her job. 

The next time Leo wandered off, he might not run into his time traveling uncle. Yes, he realized that sounded ridiculous but his point was valid all the same. She should be taking better care of something so precious.

Len moved to get Leo’s attention when he stopped in his tracks. Barry Allen was walking toward him with a wide grin on his face. The younger man looked a little older than the last time he laid eyes on him—but not by much. However, he was dressed like a responsible adult in a pair slacks, dress shirt, and a wool pea coat to combat the chilly weather.

Barry walked up to Len and kissed him on the lips as if this was something that happened all the time. “Hey, Len. Lisa called me at work and said that Leo disappeared during a field trip...again. I’ve been looking for him everywhere. Did she call you, too?”

Leonard was too stunned to say anything right away. He was trying to figure out why Barry Allen thought it was appropriate to kiss him on the lips—not that it wasn’t pleasant. He would be lying if he said he hadn’t thought about kissing those impossibly pink lips whenever the speedster pouted at him. Not to mention that skin tight red suit was great for all sorts of detailed fantasies. However, fantasy was very different from reality.

Barry slid an arm underneath Len’s jacket to rest his hand comfortably on his side. He asked, “Lenny? Are you okay?”

Len could feel the speedster’s unnatural warmth seeping through the material of his sweater. A man made of weaker stock would have shivered at the bolt of electricity that went up his spine at the mere touch. He and Barry rarely touched and he was beginning to think it was a good idea. Len didn’t know how much of this he could stand without doing something regrettable or incredibly gratifying. 

Leo ran over to them. He was holding a Captain Cold action figure. “Hi, Uncle Barry! The new one talks!”

Barry shook his head and removed his warm hand from around Len’s waist. His lips turned up at the corners upon seeing his nephew.

The man immediately missed the unfamiliar but deeply satisfying contact. He also noticed the wedding band on his ring finger for the first time.

Barry picked up Leo and asked, “What have we said about walking away from your teacher?”

Leo shrugged and gave his uncle a sheepish look. “I’m not supposed to…but I saw Uncle Lenny. He can teach me more about art than Miss Timmons can.”

Len had to admit that the kid was probably right. You had to know a great deal about art if you were going to steal it. There was nothing worse than stealing a fake and trying to fence it. It could lead to some unpleasant—if not deadly situations.

“You were at the museum?” Barry asked. “I thought you had office hours until four.”

Leo covered his mouth to stifle a giggle.

Barry looked down at Leo. “What’s so funny, Leo?”

Len cleared his throat. “Uh, I…I’m only 43, Barry.”

Barry laughed heartily. “In your dreams…”

Len scowled at Barry in defense of his older self.

Barry’s laugh slowly tapered off as he set Leo on the floor. He grabbed Len’s left hand looking for the ring that should be there. He quickly dropped the man’s hand and backed away from him. “What do you mean you’re 43?”

Leo whispered, “He’s Uncle Lenny but from the past. He didn’t even know me at the museum.”

Len tried not to wince at how put out his nephew sounded about that.

Barry’s eyes went wide and he backed away more from Len even more. “I…I should take Leo to STAR Labs. You should get back to uh…saving the world and stuff.”

Len didn’t know what make of Barry’s reaction but he had come to a few conclusions. He said, “Wait…I need to pay for this stuff. I promised him…”

Barry nodded slowly. “Uh, I’ll wait outside for the two of you.”

Len watched as Barry dashed out of the store as if it was were on fire. The kid was fast even without using his powers. He looked down at Leo. “Think you might have left something out when you were telling me about your favorite painting?”

Leo shrugged innocently. “Surprise?”

Leonard raked a hand over his face as he walked to the register. He dumped his purchases onto the counter and watched as Leo tossed a few extras up there as well. 

Leonard paid the bill that was well over the $50 limit he’d given Leo. But he figured it was okay to splurge. It would be a long time until he saw the kid at this age again. He suddenly had to the urge to go back home to his time to check on his sister. He couldn’t tell her about any of this but he so wanted to tell her that the kid was amazing. 

Leo carried his two shopping bags outside to meet Barry.

Barry’s hair was standing up at odd ends as if he had been furiously running his fingers through it. He smiled at Leo and tried to avoid looking at Len. “We need to go, Leo. You’re dad is waiting for us at STAR Labs.”

Len reached out to stop Barry from running off but stopped. They didn’t have that sort of relationship—not yet. “Could we talk for a minute?”

“I don’t think that we should. You’ve probably figured out more than you should really know. I’m sure Rip has mentioned that timelines can be delicate things.”

Len said, “I just...we’re married, right?”

Barry smirked. “Who knows what the future holds?”

He snorted. “You do.”

“Maybe I do but you’ve got to get there on your own…and you will. Trust me.”

Leo hugged Len’s waist. “Bye, Uncle Lenny!”

Len hugged him and said, “No more running away from school field trips even if they are boring. Okay?”

Leo poked out his lip but nodded dutifully. “I promise.”  He ran over to Barry and took his hand.

Barry smiled at Len one last time before walking away with Leo.

Len stood on the sidewalk until they were out of sight. His heart was hammering inside his chest so hard that he could hear it. This was his future. Len smirked to himself as he turned and headed in the other direction. He needed to go back to the waverider.

First, he needed to finish planning his heist. The De Leon collection was still leaving Central City in his possession. However, it was time he had a pointed conversation with Gideon. If his husband created her then she damn well could give him a few answers.

Len chuckled quietly to himself. “Oh, Scarlet, we are going to have some fun.”


	3. Burning Down the House

Len’s excursion around Central City had been productive in ways he couldn’t have imagined just a few hours prior. He still had trouble wrapping his mind around the future—his future. Len would never admit this to another living soul but he always assumed that he would end up alone. He thought that Lewis had done too much damage for him ever to find a stable relationship. Len always feared that his father’s cruelty resided in some dark recess of his soul. Too often people had called him his father’s son, Len never knew if they meant it as a compliment or an accusation.

After leaving the comic book store Len picked up a few supplies for his heist. He still intended to liberate the De Leon collection from the Central City Metropolitan Museum. However, he also planned to steal the portrait of the Flash and Captain Cold. His nephew’s enthusiasm for the painting was his inspiration. The way the boy’s eyes lit up at seeing it, told a story without words. However, he also had a practical reason for stealing the painting. He realized over lunch that the painting depicted a future fight with Zoom. Len didn’t have any personal experience with the cretin but he, like the rest of Central City, was a witness to Barry’s dismantling at his hands. The guidebook he purchased from the museum’s gift shop detailed not only the painting’s provenance but also a brief retelling of the battle.

When Len boarded the _Wave Rider_ , he wasn’t surprised to find the rest of the team had returned from their reconnaissance mission. However, he was shocked to see that they are all at each other’s throats. It appeared that most of the vitriol was directed at their fearless leader. On closer inspection, they all looked a little worse for wear. Len figured that it was safe to assume something had blown up in their faces—quite literally if the singe marks on their clothes were any indication. It would seem that his plan was right on schedule.

Everyone was embroiled in the heated exchange with the exception of Mick Rory.

The man was casually leaning against a wall as he munched on an apple and watched the chaos unfold with an amused smirk. His heat gun hung from his belt and was likely the cause for the heavy scent of smoke in the air.

Len walked right by the scrum because he couldn’t care less. He was headed toward the medical station to have a private conversation with Gideon. He needed answers and she had them. He slowed his pace when he heard the heavy thud of Mick’s work boots behind him. “Whaddya need, Mick?”

The older man chuckled as he caught up to Snart. “Just wondering what’s got ya smiling, Boss? You go off and have fun without me?”

Len stopped walking and laughed. “I wouldn’t pull a job without you. I have something planned for tonight. I could use an extra pair of hands…unless the good captain needs you for their heist.”

He grunted and asked, “What’s target?”

“Another museum…it could turn out to be a $6 million dollar haul. It wouldn’t be difficult to fence these particular paintings—no matter what time we land in next.”

The smile on Mick’s face showed that he was obviously on board with that idea. Being hero adjacent was getting in the way of his hobbies. “What’s the plan?”

Rip marched into the corridor with a determined stride. He said, “A word, Mr. Snart.”

“Problem?” Len drawled with a mischievous smile.

Rip bristled at the smug tone of voice. He said, “We ran into a few complications this afternoon. It seems that we might rather need your help in our endeavor this evening.”

“Oh? You mean Savage had stooges waiting for you at the museum?”

The other man blinked owlishly. “You knew?”

“That Savage would be there? I figured it was an even chance. Did you really think that he wouldn’t be in Central City when an artifact that can weaken him goes on display tomorrow? He doesn’t have the luxury of time travel so he has to do things the old fashioned way. He definitely had to be expecting us considering we’ve been playing hopscotch all over his timeline.”

Rip breathed in through his nose sharply. “I’m afraid that after our altercation at the museum that security will be increased tonight. We could use your expertise to get around the measures.”

Len knew that was a bitter pill for the man to swallow.  He smiled and inclined his head in the man’s direction. “I’m flattered but I’m going to have to take pass. My dance card is all full for the evening…”

Rip stared in disbelief at the thief, as he walked away as if he hadn’t a care in the world. “Mr. Snart!”

Mick’s eyebrows rose at Len’s behavior. He wanted to nab a score as much as his friend did. However, Captain Hunter asking for help was what Snart wanted from the beginning. It was the first step to getting the rest of their team to realize he was the better leader. He shrugged at the befuddled man and decided to follow Len.

Len walked into the medical station and dropped his bags on the bed. “Gideon?”

“How may I help you, Mr. Snart?” asked Gideon.

Len had started thinking of questions for Gideon from the moment he parted ways with Barry and Leo. He knew that she wouldn’t give him information outright. He’d have to play the margins to get what he wanted from her. “Did my husband create you?”

Silence enveloped the room for a moment. “Yes, Barry Allen created me.”

Mick whistled from the doorway. “I always told Lisa that you were flirting with that kid. But I knew something was up when you put your sister’s life in his hands.”

Len whirled around and shot Mick a baleful expression. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Mick.”

“No wonder you looked so happy when you came back,” Mick said with a deep laugh.

“Do you mind?” asked Len. He really couldn’t ask the rest of his questions with Mick standing there.

Mick smirked. “Not at all.” His smile faded when he saw the tense expression on Len’s face. “I’m just busting your balls, Snart. If jailbait makes you happy then I ain’t complainin’. Maybe when we get back to our time he can do something about the sulky look on your mug.”

He walked out of the medical station to give Len some privacy.

Len smiled wryly. He was looking forward to seeing Barry—his Barry. He wasn’t going to be able to look at the gangly speedster without thinking of him that way now. “Gideon, would I marry Barry even if I wasn’t doing all of this?”

“Yes, your future with Barry Allen was cemented after the wormhole opened over Central City,” Gideon replied.

Len released a breath that he didn’t know he’d been holding. “Could the things we’re doing to the timeline affect my future with Barry?”

“Yes, but you don’t need to worry about it, Mr. Snart. Continue to live your life as you normally would. You cannot advance your timeline by sheer will alone,” said Gideon.

Len’s eyebrows rose at the strange response. Gideon sounded almost mischievous if that was at all possible.


	4. Butterfly Effect

**Central City-2037**

“Mr. Ramon. Mr. Ramon, I am sorry to disturb you but there is a matter that requires your immediate attention.”

Leo groaned and pulled the blanket higher over his face. He had a pounding headache and it was too early for him to be lucid. Unless the world was currently on fire, he didn’t intend to move from the warm comfort of his bed for at least another twelve hours. Frankly, he might not move even if the world was actually on fire because he quite liked being engulfed in flames—it was toasty. Last night was his 21 st birthday and he may have overindulged during his celebration at his family’s pub. All of his uncles and aunts came from everywhere to celebrate not only Leo’s birthday but also his promotion to full-fledged Time Master.

“Mr. Ramon, this matter cannot wait. There is an urgent message waiting for you. Please, direct your attention to the console.”

He picked up a pillow and threw it in the general vicinity of the voice. Leo stifled a yawn and burrowed deeper into the mess of blankets on his bed. “Go away! I’m on vacation for the next week. Forward the message to Uncle Lenny if it is really an emergency. Or—I don’t know, find a Time Master that has his own ship.”

Being a Time Master didn’t automatically guarantee unfettered access to a time ship. Leo was disappointed but he could have coped. However, someone obviously had a sense of humor because he was assigned to his uncle’s crew. Leo adored his uncle. He had been looking up to the man his entire life—he was his namesake after all. However, he couldn’t make a name for himself if everyone looked at him as Captain Cold’s nephew. Last night he pretended to be excited about it. His mother was probably the only one that saw through the façade but she wouldn’t say anything about it.

“I’m afraid that I can’t do that, Mr. Ramon. Your uncle cannot become involved in this for any reason. Irreparable damage may have already been done to his timeline—and by extension yours. To send Mr. Snart would only cause more temporal damage.”

“You know she’s not going to stop until you at least hear her out, Leo,” a voice behind Leo huffed sleepily.

Leo groaned and slowly raised his head from beneath the blankets to look at his girlfriend, Sofia. He didn’t remember bringing her home with him last night. Honestly, he didn’t even remember leaving Saints & Sinners. Leo hoped that Sofia’s father didn’t notice if they left the pub together. Her old man adored Leo but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t put an arrow through his eye for dating his daughter. They had kept their relationship a secret since high school because to say Oliver Queen was overprotective was an understatement.

Sofia yawned tiredly and pulled her hair up into a ponytail. She asked, “Who is this urgent message from, Gideon?”

“It is from Mr. Ramon,” Gideon replied.

Leo realized that Gideon and Sofia weren’t going to let him go back to sleep until he at least listened to the message. He yawned and stretched as he sat up in bed. He asked, “The message is from my dad? Why didn’t he just call me?”

“No, the message is from the younger Mr. Ramon,” Gideon replied.

“Mattie? Is he okay?” asked Leo. Concern was etched on his young face. His younger brother was a good kid but he had the habit of being—a Snart. Neither of Cisco and Lisa’s sons wanted for anything but Mateo loved the thrill of the chase. He liked breaking into places just to prove that he could do it. Mattie rarely got caught but his 17 th birthday was on the horizon and the stakes would be significantly higher as he approached adulthood.

“I am sorry. I should have been more specific. The message is from the younger you, Mr. Ramon. It is quite urgent,” Gideon replied.

Sofia looked at her boyfriend with a raised eyebrow. “Trippy…I’m going to need coffee if we’re going to be dealing with younger you. You want?”

He nodded. “Yeah.” He belatedly added, “Extra sugar.”

She pecked his lips as climbed out of the bed with a yawn and headed into the kitchen.

“Gideon, I don’t remember ever leaving a message for my future self. You mentioned that Uncle Lenny’s timeline has been damaged somehow. Has something in my timeline changed, too?”

“Your entire family’s timeline has begun to shift, Mr. Ramon. There are now ripple effects in other timelines, too. However, the alterations have not been cemented. There is still time to fix the errors. Unfortunately, you are the only member of your family capable of going back in time to fix it. You will need to travel to the year 2016, before you were born.”

Leo scratched at his shaggy chocolate brown hair as he mulled the information over in his brain. “What’s happened?”

“Captain Rip Hunter’s team landed in Central City on May 28, 2024. You recognized your uncle, Leonard Snart, and approached him,” Gideon explained.

“Why should that cause irreparable damage? I’ve crossed paths with several of my family members from different time periods. I’m related to speedsters, time travelers, and metahumans—no one is ever in the right order.”

Sofia walked into the room carrying two cups of coffee. She handed Leo his cup before climbing into the bed. “Let’s just see the message.”

Leo took a sip of his coffee and nodded. “What she said. Play the message, Gideon.”

A screen flickered to life across the room and the image of eight-year-old Leo S. Ramon appeared on the screen.

Sofia whistled. “I haven’t seen that face in a long time. How old are you in that video?”

Leo shook his head. “I don’t know. It was 2024, so I had to be like eight at the time.”

_ Little Leo: Hi. I’m Leo S. Ramon. I’m leaving this message for…uh me. Gideon said that you could help me and my family. She says that I’m a Time Master! I hope I’m cool in the future and that I have a jetpack. _

Leo snorted and said, “Kid you have no idea…”

_Little Leo:_ _I wanted to sneak out to go warn Uncle Lenny but Gideon won’t let me. She said that there is a…._

_ Gideon: 58% chance that the one known as Vandal Savage will intercept Master Ramon. If that happens, there is a 89% chance that both Leonard Snart from 2016 and Leonard Snart from 2024 will be killed while trying to save him. _

_ Little Leo: Mattie had a bad dream. He dreamed that Uncle Lenny and Uncle Barry didn’t get married. He said that they were fighting each other. *sniffles* He said that mommy died. You have to make em see that they love each other bunches. You have to save mommy. I…I don’t wanna lose our family. Help…please. _

Leo stared at the screen after the video ended. He could see that his younger self was near tears. Leo had never been a crier. Snarts didn’t cry. His younger self had been vague about the details of Mateo’s dream but it was obviously enough to shake him to his core. Mateo got vibes across timelines—much like their father did. When they were younger, the vibes came across as dreams…or sometimes nightmares. He wondered if his younger brother had any dreams last night. “What exactly is happening, Gideon?”

“Your uncle’s timeline rewrites itself incrementally each time he completes a mission with Captain Rip Hunter. Usually, the changes to the timeline are imperceptible in the present or the future. Unfortunately, when he ran into the younger you on a mission…he also ran into Barry Allen from that time period. Mr. Snart accidentally learned that he is married to Mr. Allen in the future because of an ill-timed kiss,” Gideon replied.

Sofia shook her head. “Oh, no. That means their first kiss happened out of sequence.”

Leo asked, “What does that have to do with my mother dying?”

“Without a united front Zoom kills your mother during his siege of Central City. Your uncles were never able to reconcile after that,” Gideon replied.

Leo’s face fell and he nearly dropped his cup of coffee. The standoff with Zoom happened two months after he was born. If his mother was killed in this new version of past events then it would mean that Mateo was never even born. He would lose his mother, brother, his cousin, and likely countless others. The Rogues and Team Flash were in perfect sync when Zoom struck because his uncles were in love. They trusted each other enough to save the city. The moment was even immortalized in the form of a painting hanging in the Central City Metropolitan Museum.

Sofia rested a hand on Leo’s arm. “What do we need to do Gideon?”

“Mr. Ramon needs to travel back to 2016 to make sure that Mr. Allen and Mr. Snart fall in love the way they always have. He is the best candidate because he can’t run into himself in the past. Mr. Ramon will leave a smaller imprint on time.”

Sofia said, “Okay. How did they fall in love back then? Did they ever tell you the story?”

Leo said, “It was during the great blizzard of 2016. The metahumans were taking advantage of the police being distracted by the weather. Uncle Barry asked Uncle Len and the rest of Captain Hunter’s team for help. They were fighting in the middle of the blizzard and lost sight of each other. They’re not really sure what happened after that. The next thing they remember is waking up at my grandfather’s hunting cabin in the middle of nowhere. When they walked outside, they saw a metahuman flying away. They were stuck there for three days before Uncle Barry regained his speed.”

Sofia smiled. “The strongest love is forged in fire.”

“Or ice,” Leo quipped. “I’m going to have to steal Uncle Lenny’s time ship. He’s going to be angry. He hates when I nick his ship.”

“We’ll just have to make sure to return a few minutes after we left. He’ll be none the wiser if we time it properly, Leo.”

He scowled as he took a sip of his coffee. Landing at precisely the right time in history was sort of a problem for Leo. He never arrived or returned late—per se. However, he was known to arrive or return much too early—sometimes before he even left. Fortunately, he excelled at all of the other aspects of being a Time Master and technically Gideon could handle his arrival and return.

Leo blinked and then shook his head. “Why do you keep saying we? You aren’t coming with me.”

Sofia giggled. She wondered how long it would take him to catch on to her plan. “Of course I am coming with you, Leo. I can’t exactly mess up my timeline. I wasn’t born until 2017 and my parents were already together.”

Gideon said, “Miss Queen, your timeline is in jeopardy as well. Your father will fall during the battle with Zoom.”

Leo winced but remained quiet as he watched a variety of emotions wash over Sofia’s face. “They won’t fail, Sofia. I’ll stick around and fight Zoom myself if I have to…I mean I have a cheat sheet. I know how they won last time…”

Her jaw tightened. “Then I am definitely coming with you, Leo. Besides, I’m your other half. What would you do without me?”

Leo groaned. “Your dad is going to kill me if I take you to 2016 with me. It’s not going to happen, Sofia. I—I’m putting my foot down.”

Sofia rolled her eyes as she placed her coffee cup on the nightstand. She hopped out of the bed and said, “I am coming with you Leo Snart Ramon. You can’t stop me. I will be ready in exactly 15 minutes. You had better be ready, too. Or I’ll leave without you. You’re not the only one that knows how to steal a time ship.”

Leo sat there in stunned silence as he watched Sofia march into his bathroom. He muttered, “What just happened?”

“I believe that Miss Queen won the argument,” Gideon replied helpfully.

Leo scrubbed a hand over his face tiredly. “Great…” He stared at the still video of his younger self. “Don’t worry, kid. I’m coming…”


	5. Saints & Sinners

**Central City-2016**

Len walked into the smoke filled bar with a wry smile on his face. It was good to be home once again—even if it was only for a few days. Traveling through time had its rewards but this place was where Len felt most himself. He had been coming here since before he was tall enough to see over the bar. His old man used to drag him to Saints & Sinners while he shot the breeze with his crooked cop friends. Len would not say that it was a bonding experience because more often than not his father ignored him. However, he learned things that just couldn’t be taught in school. The people best equipped to break the law, were the ones taught to how to uphold it.

He sidled up to the bar and sat down at his preferred spot. He motioned for the bartender to bring over his usual order—Winnie knew to just open his tab and keep the drinks flowing until further notice. Len took off his coat and draped it over the back of the chair as he casually scanned the room.

He was glad that it was Wednesday night because the crowd was thin. Len wasn’t really in a social mood. He just didn’t want to be alone with his own thoughts. Saying that their little jaunt to 2024 did his head in would be an understatement. Len wouldn’t have minded talking to someone about all of it but there weren’t any good candidates. Instead, he would have a few drinks, shoot some pool, and then pass out at one of his safe houses. He could decide what to do or what not to do after getting a proper night’s sleep.

The dark-skinned bartender placed a bottle of beer and a glass of whiskey in front of Len. She leaned over the bar so that he could hear her voice over the music. “Lisa asked me to keep an eye out for you, Snart. Should I be expecting a bar brawl to break out anytime soon?”

Len smiled wryly as he picked up his beer. He gulped down nearly half the beer and gave a small shake of his head. “She just wants you to be a pain in my side because she can’t do it tonight.”

Winnie didn’t believe him for a moment. She had been tending bar at this dump for years. She could always tell when one of the Snart siblings was itching to put something through a wall—Len wasn’t always the guilty party. She nodded to a drunkard at the end of the bar. “If you just have to knock someone out…let it be him.”

Len followed her gaze and then quirked an eyebrow at Winnie. She wasn’t what anyone would call a delicate flower. He had witnessed her throw more than one man twice her size out of the bar without breaking a sweat.

She rolled her eyes and said, “Cop…the kind that doesn’t like to pay for drinks and thinks the chubby Black girl behind the bar should be grateful he’s interested in her. I just know that as soon as he realizes I’m not playing hard to get that he will start trying to strong arm me into paying protection money...”

He glared in the man’s direction. The jerk would have never tried a move like that if Lenny and Mick weren’t out of town so often. Everyone knew this place was his domain and that Saints & Sinners was exempt from the protection racket. He’d have to do something to make a statement before leaving for his next mission.

Len said, “Well, if I get the urge to break a bottle over someone’s head, I promise that he will be the first.”

Winnie winked at Len and then moved on to the next customer.

As Len relaxed, he could feel the achiness in his muscles. He had spent the better part of the day helping Cisco move furniture into the nursery at his and Lisa’s new house. The task would not have taken so long if his sister hadn’t demanded countless changes to the layout. She seemed less satisfied with each change. Lisa only settled down once Len hung one of the paintings from the De Leon collection on the wall. He intended to bestow _The Infancy of Spring_ upon his unborn nephew after meeting the boy. Len decided that Little Leo deserved the very best of everything. He was glad that it made Lisa happy, too.

Len stuck around a few hours after the nursery was finished because he actually felt bad for Cisco. Dealing with his bedridden sister was a veritable hell on Earth and Ramon had been doing it for two weeks. Lisa didn’t like being told what she couldn’t do. She certainly didn’t appreciate being treated like fragile glass. Unfortunately, her pregnancy was high-risk and the closer she got to her due date the more her doctor insisted on being cautious. Being bedridden didn’t stop Lisa from sniffing out that something was different about her older brother. She prodded him relentlessly for details but he refused.

He finished drinking his beer and then downed the glass of whiskey in two quick gulps. Len was about to motion for Winnie but then saw that she was already headed in his direction.

“The same again?” Winnie smirked and refreshed his drinks without waiting for an answer.

“Thanks.” Len turned to look at the pool tables and saw that one was free. He was about to go stake his claim on it, but he froze hearing a familiar voice.

“Excuse me. Uh, excuse me!” Barry yelled over the music.

Winnie finally heard him and whirled around. “What can I do you for, sweetie?”

“What’s the sweetest drink you make here?” asked Barry.

Winnie said, “These alcoholics don’t exactly ask for fruity drinks but I have the ingredients for most of the popular stuff. What do you have in mind?”

“Uh…Fuzzy Navel? Three of them?” he asked tentatively.

She nodded. “Coming right up…”

Len seriously considered tossing enough money on the bar to cover his drinks and getting the hell out of there. He was not prepared to see Barry—not after what he learned about their future. Len still couldn’t figure out how something like that would even happen. However, Gideon made a point of insisting that he couldn’t force it. He would just have to let it happen naturally even if that wasn’t really Len’s style. He didn’t like leaving things to chance.

He gulped down the rest of his beer and turned around to look at Barry’s morose figure. “Fancy meeting you here, Barry,” Len practically purred.

Barry’s head snapped in Len’s direction and he nearly toppled off the barstool. He ran a frustrated hand over his head. “Of course you’re here tonight of all nights. What are you doing here?”

Len shrugged and said, “This is my haunt, Scarlet. Shouldn’t I be asking what you’re doing in a dive like this?”

“I just wanted to go some place where no one would know me. Can you maybe not mention this to Lisa? Everyone thinks I’m in Star City for the weekend.” The younger man looked as if he was close to begging.

Len raised an eyebrow. He knew it was Barry’s birthday but it wasn’t his business if the kid wanted to slum it in a dive bar. “Your secret’s safe with me, Barry. You were never here.”

He awkwardly replied, “Thanks, Snart.”

Winnie returned with the fruity cocktail. “I used extra orange juice and grenadine. I hope it’s sweet enough for you.”

Barry took a sip and smiled brightly as he handed her the money for his drinks. “It’s perfect. Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. I'll go make the other two now that I know you like it.”

When the bartender walked away, Len said, “I didn’t think alcohol did anything for you.”

Barry drank half of the cocktail and then pulled a flask out of his pocket. He refilled the glass with a clear liquid and then used his finger to mix it up. Barry sucked the concoction off his finger and then gave a pleased smile. “It doesn’t but Caitlin has been playing around in the lab trying to find something that will. I’m testing out the new formula tonight. For science...”

Len shifted in his seat because he could have done without seeing Barry sucking his finger. He picked up his glass of whiskey as he decided to head over to the pool table—he was not running away from the speedster. Leonard Snart didn’t run away from anything…not even his apparent future husband. He smirked at Barry and said, “Good luck with that, kid.”

Len moved over to the pool table and had a mark before he even finished racking the balls. He wasn’t surprised that the dirty cop was the first to challenge him. Len accepted and hustled the drunk for every dime in his pocket. It was the least he could do for Winnie. He also picked his wallet because he needed to know where the man lived. Perhaps Mick would like a little side project tomorrow night.

After losing all of his money the man left the bar seething with anger.

It amused Len greatly as he moved on to the next mark. Periodically, he looked over at Barry to check on him. Part of Len wanted to go over to the speedster and ask what the hell was going on with him. But he kept imagining the feel of Barry’s lips on his and being close to that pretty face was just too tempting.

He was grateful for the distraction pool provided and made quick work of his opponents. He wasn’t hurting for cash but it was always nice taking easy money from idiots.

He was finishing his fifth game when Winnie walked over to the table. She nodded toward the bar. “Your friend is looking a little worse for wear. Do you know where he lives? I’m going to call him cab.”

Len looked over at Barry and winced. The kid looked like he was about to fall off the barstool. It appeared that Dr. Snow had been successful in her endeavors. They now had a very intoxicated speedster sitting at the bar. He shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll handle him. Close out my tab…and his.”

He peeled a few bills off his winnings to pay for their drinks and to tip Winnie generously. Afterwards he tossed back the last sip of his whiskey before ambling over to the bar. “You’ve had enough for the night. Time to get you home, Barry.”

Barry shook his head. “Can’t. S’pposed to be in Star City. Joe’ll know I lied and then we’ll have talk about why. S’not ready to do that. Nope.”

Len forgot that the kid still lived at home with his old man. He snorted. He really did feel like a cradle robber and he hadn’t even done anything yet. “Fine, I’ll take you over to Ramon’s house. You can crash on his couch for the night.”

Barry shook his head as he stood up unsteadily. “I’ll just get a hotel room.”

Len rolled his eyes as Barry swayed dangerously. He caught the kid by the arm to keep him from tipping over. There was no way that he would make it down the block in one piece--let alone to a hotel. Besides, this wasn’t exactly a safe neighborhood. “Come on. You’re coming home with me, kid.”

Barry blinked at Len for a moment but ultimately nodded. “Okay.”

Len was shocked by the easy acceptance but he chalked it up to the speedster being drunk out of his gourd. He supported Barry’s weight as he led him out to his car. This was not how he expected his night to go. He tried to steer clear of Barry but somehow the speedster ended up in his path anyway. He muttered, “Of all the gin joints in the world…”

At the back of the bar, a young couple had been casually watching everything play out. Leo grunted. “This is going to be a lot harder than I thought.”

Sofia nodded in agreement. She grinned from behind her glass and replied, “They’re hopeless. Did you see how they kept stealing looks at each other? They are totally into each other, even if they won’t admit.”

Leo rolled his eyes. “I tried to ignore the obvious longing looks. They’re my uncles and it’s creepy.”

She smirked. “It’s all unrequited love and angst. I never pictured your uncle as angsty but wow…”

He huffed. “This night was a complete waste of time. I was hoping I could just tell them to stop being weird and just fall in love already.”

Leo realized now that it was a half-baked plan but in his defense, he was still a bit hung over and time traveling on an important mission without supervision for the first time. He was flying without a safety net here. The few times he had stolen Len’s time ship in the past he was just having a laugh. There weren’t any real stakes involved.

“You’re the one that insisted we arrive on exactly this date, hotshot. I suggested we land closer to the battle with Zoom,” Sofia pointed out.

He said. “Gideon wanted me to avoid my past self. If we land closer to the showdown with Zoom, then I will already have been born. Besides, we are trying to avoid our parents. They’re all there on the day Zoom comes to kill Uncle Barry.”

Sofia conceded his point even if she didn’t say so. “What if we split the difference and show up on the day the metahuman is supposed to kidnap them? We can hang out of sight to make sure it happens. If it doesn’t happen then we’ll intervene.”

“How do you suggest we kidnap Uncle Barry? He has the speed force and I have seen him sonic punch criminals before. I want no parts of that.”

She kicked the bag next to her feet. “I might have brought tranqs and the nanite serum. You get me a clear shot and he’ll be unconscious and powerless.” Sofia mimed pulling back a bowstring.

Leo’s jaw went slack. “You don’t think…nah.”

Sofia asked, “What?”

“Uncle Barry and Uncle Len always said that they woke up at the hunting cabin but they were never sure how they got there. Maybe we’ve done this before. Maybe we always do this?’ asked Leo.

Sofia carefully considered what Leo was suggesting. “No. They would have recognized you and me in our time and said something.”

Leo shook his head. “Not necessarily, Sof. The story goes…the metahuman was flying away. When you and I merge, we’re on fire…we would be nearly unrecognizable in the air. If you factor in poor visibility because of the snowstorm, time of day, and maybe even a little haziness from being tranqed…they probably just saw a burning figure flying off into the night.”

“And Gideon won’t tell us because you don’t have a high enough clearance yet and I’m just a probationary agent,” said Sofia.

He growled. “I don’t like being sent on a mission with only half of the information.”

Sofia said, “In Gideon’s defense, she did say that we had to make sure your uncles fell in love the same way they do in the story they tell. Maybe that was her way of telling us what we needed to know without explicitly breaking any rules.”

“We need to get back to the ship and research the exact date of the blizzard. We should arrive a day in advance so that we can make sure the hunting cabin has supplies. We wouldn’t want them to actually freeze to death out there,” said Leo.

“There were supplies at the hunting cabin?” asked Sofia.

He nodded. “Yeah.”

She asked, “They never thought it was strange that an abandoned cabin had food and blankets inside of it?”

Leo tilted his head to the side. “Uncle Lenny thought maybe a squatter had taken it over.”

“A squatter that was conveniently out during the blizzard?” Sofia asked doubtfully.

Leo rolled his eyes at his own denseness. “Come on. We’ve got work to do.”


	6. Milk Cartons

**Central City-2016**

Leonard Snart was a thief, a murderer, and a recovering super villain. However, he had always lived by a code. Len believed that having honor is what separated him from being the monster that terrorized his sister and mother for years. It was a thin line but he had always found a way to walk it. Having honor meant resisting the advances of a handsy, but drunken, speedster. Len managed to get Barry tucked into the guest bedroom after a few less than successful attempts. Despite his adamant protests of not being tired, Barry was fast asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

Afterwards Len took an ice cold shower and turned in for the night. This wasn’t exactly what he had planned when he rocked up at Saints & Sinners tonight. Nevertheless, part of him believed that he was right where he needed to be at exactly the right time to intercept Barry. Len was quickly learning that time wasn’t just a fickle mistress—she was a stroppy cow.

As Len relaxed in bed, he tried not to read too much into Barry’s drunken attraction to him. Perhaps the speedster was always overly amorous when he was three sheets to the wind. He didn’t want to examine too closely why the thought of Barry flirting with someone else agitated him. 

Len decided to chalk it up to very little sleep and perhaps a little too much whiskey. However, he could hear Lisa’s voice in his head accusing him of being possessive. His sister took far too much pleasure in ribbing him about his banter with the Flash. Not mentioning his trip to 2024 was as much about avoiding her teasing as it was protecting the timeline.

Despite a racing mind, exhaustion forced Len to fall asleep not long after he climbed into bed. It was nice being home after so long on the  _ Wave Rider _ . Len was a man that enjoyed his privacy and there wasn’t much of that on the time ship. He was grateful for the few days of downtime Rip gave the team. Len intended to spend some more time with his sister and maybe even get his Rogues together to pull a heist. It had been awhile since they robbed any of the casinos in Central City.

He probably would have slept until morning if a strange noise hadn’t awakened him just three hours later. Len had been a light sleeper for most of his life. Sleeping deeply meant being vulnerable and that wasn’t something he couldn’t abide.

Len sat straight up in bed and cocked his head to the side. He didn’t know what sound woke him up until he heard it for a second time—someone was screaming. It took a moment for his brain to register who was screaming. It was Barry! 

Barry was the only other person in the house. Len was out of his bed a second later. He picked up his cold gun that had been resting on the nightstand.

Len eased out of his room and down the hall silently to get the drop on whatever assailant was attacking Barry. Both of them had a long list of enemies so it could have been anyone—worse yet, not all of those enemies were exactly human. 

Barry’s suggestion of getting a hotel room was starting to look better in hindsight. For some reason, Len decided to bring him to his real home--not even a safehouse.

He shuddered as Barry let out another spine tingling wail. Len burst into the guest bedroom with his cold gun raised. He looked around the room with bated breath but quickly realized that Barry was the only one there.

The speedster was sitting ramrod straight in the bed with wide unseeing eyes. Barry was breathing so hard that he was close to hyperventilating. The red marks on his bare arms suggested that he had clawed at his own skin during the nightmare.

Len relaxed slightly and lowered the cold gun as he approached the bed. He couldn’t tell if Barry was awake or still asleep. More than once, he had witnessed his sister in the throes of a nightmare. They had stopped by the time Lisa became a teenager but he figured that everyone was different.

“Are you with me, Barry?” asked Len.

Barry’s head snapped in the direction of Len’s voice as if he just realized he was standing there. He stared at the tattooed man for a moment before nodding slowly. Barry wiped away the tears clinging to his eyelashes. 

He stuttered, “S-s-sorry. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you up. I…”

“Don’t worry about it, kid. I would rather find out that you are just having a nightmare as opposed to someone being here to kill you,” Len replied. 

He had a seat next to Barry because it looked as if the speedster might bolt--and he was in no condition. He looked terrified despite being fully awake now. 

It was then that the younger man finally took in Len’s appearance. He was only wearing boxer briefs and a pair of socks. Barry laughed awkwardly but couldn’t get his mouth to form actual words.

Len’s eyebrows shot up when he saw the way the speedster was eying his bare chest. His lips curved into a small smirk. “Something wrong?”

“You ran in here wearing only your underwear because you thought someone was trying to kill me?” Barry asked incredulously.

Len chuckled lowly. “Was I supposed to put on pants first, Scarlet?”

Barry smiled a little. “I guess not…”

Len’s smile faded away when he saw how jittery Barry looked. His eyes moved down to the scratch marks on his arms. “You’re bleeding. I think I have a first aid kit around here somewhere.”

“Don’t bother.” Barry looked down at his arms. “They’re not very deep. The scratches will heal in 30 minutes tops.”

He asked, “This happen to you often? Sounds like you’re speaking from experience.”

Barry studied Len’s face closely as if he was looking for something. Ultimately, he looked vaguely disappointed. 

Finally, he shook his head helplessly. “More often than I’d like. I thought that passing out would stop me from dreaming. It worked for awhile...I guess.”

“Looks like Dr. Snow’s concoction has worn off already,” Len replied. He could tell that Barry wasn’t interested in talking about his nightmare. Asking would only encourage him to run. 

He nodded and grabbed his pants from the bottom of the bed. “Yeah. Listen, I should probably get out of your hair for the night. I’m not drunk anymore.”

“You don’t have to speed off, Barry,” Len replied easily. 

Barry looked as if he was actually considering the offer. However, he ultimately shook his head. “If I go back to sleep I’ll just have another nightmare. It wouldn’t be right to impose on you like that.”

“Where are you going to go? I was under the impression that you couldn’t go home. Earlier you said something about not wanting to talk to Detective West.” 

Len couldn’t explain but he had this terrible feeling in his gut. He didn’t want Barry to leave until he knew that the kid would be okay.

Barry said, “I’ll probably just go to STAR Labs. It should be empty for the next couple of hours. I don’t want to put you out anymore than I already have.”

Len grasped Barry’s hand and said, “I won’t be able to fall back to sleep tonight. Stay.”

Barry bit his bottom lip as he really looked at Len. “Okay…”

“Since neither of us is going to get any sleep tonight. Let’s watch a movie.” He paused and looked down at himself. “After I put on some pants.”

Barry awkwardly said, “Yeah. Pants are good. They’re great even, Snart.”

Len smirked. “You’ve seen me in my underwear and you’ve slept in my house--I think you can call me by my first name now, Barry. You can choose the movie. Most of them are stacked on the bookshelf in the living room.”

Barry blew out a slow breath. “Okay, Len. Any preferences on the movie?”

“You’re the guest, you choose,” Len replied. He walked out of the room and stopped halfway down the hall. He replayed their exchange in his head before whirling around and marching back into the room. “What did you call me?”

Barry was in the middle of putting on his pants. He looked up at Len with a wide eyed expression. “I called you by your name.”

Len walked further into the room. “No, you called me Len. Not Leonard or even Lenny. You called me Len. Why?”

Barry’s cheeks flushed bright red and he shook his head. “I don’t know. I thought Lenny was something that only Lisa calls you.”

Len’s mind was working a mile a minute and then he smirked. “You know…”

He squeaked, “What? I don’t know what you mean.”

Len took a step closer so that he standing mere inches from Barry. “You’re a terrible liar. Go for a long run lately, Scarlet?” 

Barry’s eyes widened comically. He nodded slowly. “I ran into you--literally.”

“Yeah?” He placed a hand on Barry’s cheek. His resolve was weakening on the matter of kissing the speedster. 

He nodded again. “I tried out this serum called Velocity-9 to make me run faster. I have to be faster to beat Zoom. It worked, too well. I time traveled by accident. I’ve only ever run backwards before, never forward--at least not without the help of the particle accelerator.”

Len chuckled quietly. “What year?”

Barry’s cheeks were flushed. “Uh, 2023.”

“Interesting.”

“How did you know?” asked Barry. He licked his lips nervously.

Len replied. “I just left 2024...I ran into you--figuratively. You called me Len and kissed me.”

Barry leaned forward and kissed Len passionately.

Len was caught off guard by a kiss from Barry for the second time in as many days. However, at least this time it was his Barry. He dropped the cold gun on the bed and pulled the speedster closer as they kissed.

Months of pent up frustration between the pair began to dissipate as they made out in the middle of Len’s guest bedroom. It was a passionate mix of lips, tongues, teeth and the occasional roaming hand. They were a bit clumsy as they got used to one another but neither seemed to mind it. 

Suddenly Len pulled away from the kiss because he heard the faintest sound outside the bedroom. It sounded as if someone began to step on the loose board in the hallway and then just as quickly retreated from it. 

Barry was out of breath and his face and neck were flushed. His pupils were dilated and he looked incredibly pouty about the end of their sexy fun times.

Len grabbed his cold gun and moved in front of the speedster protectively out of pure instinct. 

A moment later, a hooded figure appeared in the darkened doorway.

Barry sped in front of Len and grabbed a tranquilizer arrow out of mid-air. “What the hell Oliver?”

Leonard asked, “Friend of yours, Scarlet?”

“Uh...yes.”

The Green Arrow reached over and flipped on the light switch. His eyes went wide when he saw how dressed, or rather undressed, the two men were. He growled, “Explain…”

Barry walked closer to Oliver and said, “It’s not what it looks like, Oliver. Wait. What does it look like?”

Len didn’t like the familiar relationship between the two men. He wasn’t jealous...he was just angry about a stranger bursting into his house in the middle of the night. That was his story and he was sticking to it. Len powered up his cold gun ready to ice the Green Arrow at any moment. 

Oliver nocked another arrow in response--this time it wasn’t a tranq. He was confident that he could hit Snart with the arrow before he could even pull the trigger. 

Barry’s eyes widened and he stepped in the middle of the two of them. “Whoa! Why don’t we all put our weapons down?”

Len harrumphed, “That’s not gonna happen, Barry. I don’t trust your friend. He doesn’t seem to like me very much.”

Oliver nodded in agreement. 

Barry said, “I’m not going to let either of you hurt the other one. Which means either I’m going to get hit by a blast from the cold gun or by an arrow….”

Len faltered first. He didn’t want to see what would happen to Barry without his Flash suit to protect him. He slowly lowered the cold gun all the while glaring at The Green Arrow. He trusted Barry to catch the arrow if the jerk decided to fire it anyway.

Oliver slowly removed his arrow and returned it to his quiver. He said, “We thought that you had been kidnapped, Barry.”

“What? Why would anyone think that I’d been kidnapped?”

“You lied to your family and friends about going to Star City to spend your birthday with me and Felicity. They were very confused when we showed up here in Central City to surprise you this evening. At first we thought maybe our wires had gotten crossed but after a couple of hours Dig said you hadn’t been spotted in Star City. You weren’t answering your phone either. We didn’t know what to think. Cisco was worried that maybe Zoom came through one of the breaches and grabbed you. Felicity tracked your phone here. Cisco recognized the address and suggested I come here alone just in case this wasn’t a kidnapping. Apparently, Lisa is very Team Barry.”

Barry blushed furiously. He turned to look at Len and asked, “Lisa is Team Barry?”

Len shrugged casually. “Mick and Lisa think that we flirt whenever we’re together.”

“We don’t flirt!”

“That’s what I said,” Len replied. 

Oliver asked, “Can we get back to you lying to everyone so that you can spend the night with Captain Cold?”

Barry said, “I didn’t...that’s not what happened. I went to a bar and got a little tipsy…Len just happened to be there tonight.”

“You were drunk but cute,” Len corrected. He also didn’t point out Barry’s suspicious decision to show up at Saints & Sinners of all places. He had to have known that Len and the rest of the team were back in Central city for a few days. Consciously or not he thought Barry went there looking for him. 

“Not the point.” He cleared his throat. “Anyway, Len brought me home with him because I couldn’t go back to my own house.”

Oliver asked, “Why couldn’t you go home? Joe said you've been finding reasons not to go home lately.”

Len was pretty interested in that answer, too.

He said, “Things have been weird since Joe’s real son showed up. I’m not really sure where I fit in now. I’ve been trying to avoid him so that we don’t have to talk about any of this. Joe knows me too well.  Who knows that I am here?”

Oliver eyed him suspiciously as if he didn’t believe him for a second. “Felicity, Cisco, and Lisa are the only ones that know you are with Snart. Everyone else just knows that you’re missing. I’m leaving now because I can’t unsee this but we’re talking about this later, Barry. You should probably called Detective West. He’s worried about you.”

Barry watched dumbfounded as Oliver left as quickly and as quietly as he arrived. 

Len said, “Well, that was pleasant. You’d think a vigilante that used to kill people would be a little less judgmental.”

Barry snapped out of his thoughts. He shook his head. “That’s just Oliver’s way of showing that he cares. He’s like a big brother...that shoots people with arrows. You should probably be careful for the next couple of days. I mean he’s stopped killing people but he still might shoot you with an arrow--or two.”

 


	7. A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

**Central City-2016**

Oliver’s poorly timed interruption put an indefinite end to sexy fun times for the night. The archer’s obvious disappointment had brought Barry crashing back down to Earth in a major way. It wasn’t an exaggeration when he described Oliver as being an older brother. He looked up to the man even if he didn’t always agree with his every action. The encounter left him conflicted and riddled with guilt.

It was all well and good that Len and Barry knew about their shared future. The speedster was grateful that he didn’t have to carry that burden alone anymore. The last two weeks had been difficult enough with the nightmares and Wally’s integration into their family. However, in the present Barry’s family and friends weren’t likely to approve of the budding relationship. Captain Cold, and by extension Leonard Snart, was wrong for the Flash in far too many ways to count. Instead of having time to figure out what their mutual attraction could become, he would have to explain himself. It was an unenviable position to be sure.

Barry anxiously paced the floor as he waited on Len to finish putting on some clothes. Although, he suspected the older man was also giving him privacy to call Joe. It was a nice gesture but he had chickened out at the last moment. 

Instead, he sent out a group text message apologizing for lying to everyone and for disappearing without warning. He suggested lunch tomorrow afternoon at STAR Labs to explain his actions of late. Barry wasn’t looking forward to that conversation but it was one that seemed long overdue now. He tried so hard not to burden the other people in his life but somehow he managed to fail them every time. He was terrified that Len was going to be another person on that list.

He stopped his pacing in front of a wooden shipping crate tucked away in the corner of the living room. Barry knew it was impolite to snoop when Len had been gracious enough to bring him to his real home. However, the crate was in plain sight and the large stamp on the front indicated that it was the property of the Central City Metro Museum. Barry was curious to see if it was a legitimate purchase because he hadn’t heard about any thefts at the museum.

Barry’s eyes went as wide as saucers when he opened the front of the crate. He dropped to one knee to get a closer look at the painting but couldn’t bring himself to touch it. It was a beautiful painting to be sure but the subject matter was what truly caught him off guard. Who would have painted a portrait of the Flash and Captain Cold fighting Zoom?

When he entered the living room, Len was pleasantly surprised to see that Barry was still there. He was also dressed in the pajamas Len left for him in the guest bedroom. Truthfully, he half expected the speedster to make a few thinly veiled excuses before beating a hasty retreat. It would appear that Barry was full of surprises as usual.

Len cleared his throat after silently watching him for a few minutes. “Making yourself comfortable, Barry?” He drawled.

The gangly speedster nearly toppled over as he tried to get back onto his feet to face his host. His face was hot with embarrassment at being caught. He cleared his throat, “Uh, sorry. I just...”

“Just couldn’t stop yourself from looking at my goods?” Len teased.

Barry blushed at the blatant innuendo. He also found himself a little disappointed that Len had put on quite so many clothes. The pajama bottoms were fine but he was really going to miss looking at his bare chest. “There’s no graceful way out of this is there?”

He stepped into the speedster’s space and leaned in close. “Not a bit. I’ve got no problem with you taking advantage of me, Scarlet. But this isn’t quite what I had in mind.”

“I’m sorry…”

Len hummed with a smirk on his face. “You’ve already said that. What do you think of it?”

Barry’s eyes automatically snapped back to the painting. He shook his head. “Where’d you get it?”

“You’re not asking the right question. You can read…so you know exactly where I acquired that intriguing little piece,” Len replied easily. He almost faltered when he realized that Lisa and Mick might be right about his banter with the Flash being more flirting than anything else. 

There was a pregnant pause as Barry’s brain sussed out the cryptic statement. He blinked and then said, “Obviously, you were in Central City during your last mission if you accidentally bumped into me. I can’t believe you’re stealing stuff while you are supposed to be saving the world from Vandal Savage!”

Len smirked. He found Barry’s indignation adorable. “The job is thankless and doesn’t exactly pay anything since it isn’t sanctioned. And I have to pull a heist every once in awhile to keep Mick interested in it at all. Besides, I stole that particular painting for two very important reasons.”

Barry hadn’t really considered how Len was supporting himself while he time traveled with Rip Hunter. He knew how expensive the hero business could be when you had to run out of your day job on a regular basis. His food bill alone was enough to bankrupt a small city. However, he still didn’t approve of stealing things from the future but he figured it was better than Len stealing things in the present where he would have a responsibility to apprehend him. 

Barry folded his arms over his chest not quite willing to abandon the argument yet. He continued to stare at the painting and asked, “What reasons?”

Len walked up behind him and rested his hands on Barry’s hips. He wondered if he would reject the physical contact now that the initial euphoria was gone. “Well, our nephew was very fond of the painting.”

Barry tried to mask the shiver that ran up his spine when Len touched him. “Really?”

“Mmmhmm. Leo talked about it endlessly when he spotted me at the museum. He suggested if I was going to steal something…that I should steal this one. I was inclined to agree with him.”

Barry looked over his shoulder in disbelief and asked, “You planned a heist with our nephew?”

Len chuckled lowly. “No, he just suggested a target—a very good one. Afterwards, I took him to lunch and then to the comic book store before handing him off to you—future you.”

Barry relaxed a little more. “What was the second reason?”

Len’s lips moved over Barry’s pulse point. He whispered, “I don’t fight fair. I learned that this painting depicts an actual fight. Zoom will come for you and when he does…we will be ready.”

“You stole the painting for me?” Barry turned around slowly to look into Len’s eyes. He wasn’t sure if he could believe that Len was quite that sentimental about him after a chance encounter in the future.

“Nemesis, reluctant ally, friend, or future husband, no matter what you are to me…you’re mine, Barry Allen. I didn’t let Mardon, Jesse, or Bivolo kill you and I’m not about let some freak from a parallel universe do it either.”  

Barry was genuinely speechless. There were too many feelings in that statement to unpack on a night like this. He needed a clearer head and a good night’s rest before he could evaluate any of this with clarity. He sat down on the couch and tried to gather his wits so that he didn’t make a fool of himself. 

After a few moments of much needed silence he said, “I was wondering if your offer for watching a movie is still good. I found one of my favorites in your collection.”

Len thought the change of subject was abrupt but he figured it was better than Barry literally running away from the bombshell he just dropped.

“Yeah?” asked Len. He sat down beside Barry on the couch. “Which one?”

“Uh, I picked  _ The Public Enemy.  _ I already put it in the player if you’re interested in watching it.” Barry sunk his teeth into his bottom lip and looked up at him through his eyelashes as he waited on his answer.

Len smirked because the kid’s hopeful expression was just too much. He decided quickly that Barry Allen was going to be the death of him and he was okay with that. “You can’t ever go wrong with Cagney. Although, I didn’t take you for the mob movie type, Scarlet.”

He shrugged good-naturedly and started the movie. “Joe gets all the blame or credit on that one. I think I’ve seen all of the classics in the mob movie genre. I didn’t realize this movie had been released on blu-ray. I’ll have to buy it for him.”

Len considered not saying anything. However, he decided that if Barry was offering a brief glimpse deeper into his background that it was only fair that he reciprocate. “It must be a cop thing. My old man was obsessed with  _ The Godfather _ .”

“I like that one, too. We might just have to have a movie marathon sometime.” As the opening credits ended, Barry asked, “Lights?”

He nodded and prepared to move but the speedster beat him to the punch. Barry turned off the lights and he was sitting beside him again before Len even had the opportunity to stand.

The initial awkwardness faded away as the movie enthralled both of them. The speedster incrementally drifted closer to Len until their shoulders were touching. However, neither man acknowledged the move.

Len felt Barry shiver beside him. He looked over at him. “Are you okay?”

He nodded. “You keep this place like a freezer. I guess I didn’t realize it was cold until I stopped moving.”

“What can I say? I like it frosty,” Len replied with a smirk. He looked around the speedster and grabbed a fleece blanket that Lisa used whenever she stopped over. Len draped it over Barry’s shoulders and asked, “Better?”

Barry nodded with a smile. “Thanks.”

Len put an arm around Barry’s shoulders and brought him closer. He decided to make the most of this night because tomorrow was waiting for both of them. The speedster wasn’t the only one that had to explain his actions to loved ones in the morning. He took so long getting dressed because he was calling Lisa. His sister had sent a dozen text messages warning him that the Green Arrow a.k.a Oliver Queen was on the way to his house. Len had to let her know that he escaped the encounter unscathed before she defied doctor’s orders and turned up at his house.

Without fail, Lisa tried to pry details out of her brother. She wanted to know why he would take the speedster to his real home--a place he rarely even invited Mick because the man had a habit of setting fires for fun. Len kept his explanation brief and purposefully vague. Despite having spent several hours with Lisa earlier he had resisted telling her about his trip to 2024. It was as much about protecting the timelines as it was about avoiding the gloating that was sure to follow. 

However, he would have to tell her the truth or at least part of it now so that she didn’t badger poor Barry. His sister had always been a force of nature but with pregnancy hormones she was downright scary. And her forced stint on bedrest was making her more hostile than normal. He hoped that telling Lisa about Leo might make her a bit happier, too. 


	8. Sometimes You Do Expect the Inquisition

The next morning Barry and Len woke up together on the couch. Despite the limited space, it was the best rest he’d had in a couple of weeks. Everything felt a lot clearer than it had last night. They talked about what to tell people over breakfast because Len would be seeing his sister while Barry was at STAR Labs. Afterward the speedster loitered around the house until 11 o’clock. Len playfully kicked him out to face the music when it became obvious that he was stalling. 

Barry decided to go home first. He wanted to change clothes and figure out what he would say to everyone over lunch. He hoped that Joe would be at work by the time that he made it home. At the ripe old age of twenty-six years old, you would think that Barry Allen was well past the age of sneaking into the house to avoid his parental figure. However, after last night’s debacle he was giving the walk of shame a completely new meaning.

He really shouldn’t have been surprised to see Joe’s car parked outside of the house when he arrived. There was no way the man would go to work before he figured out what was going on with his son. Barry rarely lied to Joe about anything important and when he did, it was generally bad news. This time was no different. 

Barry unlocked the front door and walked into the house. He winced when he saw that Joe was sitting on the couch in the living room waiting on him. There wasn’t even the slightest pretense that this was anything other than an interrogation. He would just have to face the music because there was no avoiding the inevitable.

“Barry…” Joe said. His voice sounded tired.

As Barry walked into the living room, he rubbed at the back of his neck awkwardly. He was somewhere between feeling embarrassed and feeling guilty. However, when the speedster saw the bags under Joe’s eyes he settled on just feeling like a terrible person. “I’m sorry, Joe.”

Joe stood up and pulled the younger man into a bone-crushing hug. For a long while he said nothing at all. All he felt was relief because of Barry’s safe return. Oliver’s vague explanation and Barry’s blatantly evasive text message left the man fearing the worst. He said, “Don’t you ever do that to me again, Barr. I don’t care what’s going on…you don’t just disappear on me.”

“I’m really sorry, Joe. I didn’t mean to make anyone worry about me. I just…needed some time alone. I wasn’t really in the mood to celebrate my birthday with anyone,” he replied quietly. Seeing the man that raised him so near tears made Barry feel like dirt. He made Joe worry enough every day he donned his Flash suit and fought crime.

Joe pulled away from the hug to look his son in the eye. He could tell that there was a lot that Barry wasn’t saying. “I’ve been trying to give you space, Barry. I’m not blind. I’ve seen how distant you’ve been with me and Iris lately. You used to be able to talk to me about anything. I know that things have been different lately but you’re still my son and I still love you.”

“I know that…”

Joe asked, “Do you? You started finding reasons to stay away from the house and me when Wally started spending more time here. Maybe I should have said this sooner but I took for granted that you would know that nothing changes for me just because I know about Wally now. It just means that I have two sons. I’m sorry if I gave you any other impression, Barr.”

“But…”

Joe shook his head. “There is no but…you’re my son, Barry. Nothing and no one can ever change that. I understand the uncertainty. I felt the same way when Henry was released from prison. Of course, I was happy for him and you but I wondered if you would still need me. I was scared that there would be no place for me in your life. Then I felt selfish and foolish for even thinking that way.”

Barry couldn’t believe that Joe would ever think that he wasn’t needed. He shook his head. “You raised me. My dad couldn’t replace you in my life anymore than you could replace him. I guess I should have just talked to you about Wally instead of running away.”

“That would have been the smart choice but I think that we both know that Wally isn’t the only reason you’ve been avoiding me, Barr. I’m worried about you, son. I know you’re not a little kid anymore but whatever burdens you are carrying…you don’t need to carry them alone. You have family and friends that love you.”

The younger man sat down on the couch heavily. He realized that there was no way he was getting out of there without telling Joe the whole truth. He wasn’t willing to wait for the lunch at STAR Labs. Honestly, Barry knew that he owed Joe more than that. “I don’t know where to start.”

Joe sat down and said, “Take your time, Barr. I’m not going anywhere.”

The double meaning in his words glowed like a neon sign. 

“I’ve been having nightmares about Zoom. Not every night but enough of that sleeping has been hard for me. I started staying away at night because I didn’t want to bother you with this. I didn’t want you to worry about me. I know it had the opposite effect but it came from a good place,” Barry replied.

The detective couldn’t believe that he had somehow missed that his son was suffering in silence. The thought of Barry being terrified by nightmares and all alone made him feel sick. “Oh, Barry. Where have you been staying at night?”

“I’ve been crashing at Cisco’s place or at STAR Labs,” he replied truthfully.

Joe nodded. “But you weren’t there last night. No one knew where you were. Where were you? Oliver was pretty tight-lipped about where he ultimately found you last night. He just told me that you were safe.”

Barry stood up and walked over to the window. He wasn’t looking forward to this part of the conversation. The speedster hoped that he could get through the next part if he wasn’t looking at Joe. “I decide to go to a bar last night to celebrate my birthday alone. Caitlin finished a new formula for alcohol that might actually have an effect on me. I took it with me to Saints & Sinners. It worked like a charm because I ended up drunk before I even realized it. I haven’t been that way since before the lightning. The bartender was going to call a cab for me but someone else stepped up to help me. A friend…”

Joe’s eyebrows rose at Barry’s bar choice. He could have gone anywhere in the city. It was odd that he would pick a dive bar in Central City’s worst neighborhood. “Just a friend?”

Barry tensed when he heard Joe’s incredibly perceptive question. “I can’t really explain it…not in a way that would make much sense to you. Do you remember when I pilot tested Velocity-9?”

“Yes, you said that it didn’t work.” Joe had waited on pins and needles at STAR Labs when Barry disappeared from the radar for a total of ten minutes. He could tell that there was something off about the young man when he returned. But he thought it better not to badger him after another failed test.

“That wasn’t exactly the truth. I ran too fast. I accidentally time travelled. I ended up several years in the future. What seemed like a few minutes for you was actually several hours for me. But foreknowledge is dangerous and my past actions have already had terrible consequences,” Barry replied. His thoughts immediately went to Ronnie and Eddie. They both died for his mistakes. “I interacted with someone from the future and found out that we’re together. I was shocked and then again, maybe I shouldn’t have been. There has been something…strange between us for awhile.”

Joe visibly relaxed. “Is she someone that I know?”

Barry chuckled wryly. “He. And you’ve definitely met him. But you don’t particularly like him. He was at the bar last night and took me back to his place since I was in no shape to wander around that neighborhood alone.”

Joe wasn’t exactly shocked by the confession. He’d known that Barry was bisexual since college. Joe wracked his brain to figure out what man he was talking about. “I hope you don’t mean Oliver Queen.”

Barry whirled around to shoot him a baleful expression. “No! Oliver is straight as an arrow besides he is in love with Felicity.”

Joe smiled. “I know. I was just hoping that you would turn around. You’re making me nervous.  I am sure that if you care for this person that they can’t be all that bad. I’ll make an effort to understand. Who is it?”

He laughed hollowly. Barry knew Joe wouldn’t be able to keep his word. “I went home with Leonard Snart last night.”

“You what?” asked Iris from the doorway. She clutched the handle of her coffee mug so that it didn't slip from her hand.

Barry blinked. “Iris? When did you get here? How long have you been listening?”

Iris folded an arm across her chest and said, “I’ve been listening for a few minutes. I’m worried about you too, Barr. And I’ve been here all night. I stayed here with Dad when you didn’t come home. What do you mean that you went home with Captain Cold?”

Barry ran a hand over his hair and groaned. “I was drunk. He took me home to let me sleep in his guest bedroom since I couldn’t come home.”

Joe’s expression tightened when Barry said he couldn't come home. He really didn’t understand how this had all gotten so out of hand.

“I thought something was going on between the two of you when he showed up here on Christmas to warn you. And then other than Lisa you were the only person he talked to at Cisco’s birthday party. Is it serious?” asked Iris.

“No. I don’t know. It isn’t anything yet. All of this is happening backwards. Sure, I guess you could say I had a crush on Len before now. I didn’t think he’d ever reciprocate so I never gave it much thought. But then I time travelled and he went to the future with Rip Hunter’s team and…I don’t know. We both know too much about the future now to just ignore whatever this is between us.”

Joe said, “No.”

Barry and Iris turned to look at Joe as if they’d forgotten he was in the room.

“Huh?” asked Barry.

“Not Snart. I was only joking earlier when I mentioned Oliver but he’d be a better choice. Leonard Snart will hurt you. He only cares for himself and his sister. Snart is a murderer, a criminal, and he has betrayed you in the past.”

Barry replied, “And I love him in the future. I’m not sure that one doesn’t outweigh the other. I get it if you don’t understand it or like it but Len and I have decided that we’re going to see what this is between us. When we have time that is…he’s leaving with Rip’s team in a couple of days. We...we’re having dinner together tonight.”

Joe stood up and walked out of the living room. “I’m going to go for a drive.”

Iris said, “Dad…”

Barry shook his head. “Let him go, Iris.” He dropped down onto the couch and put his head in his hands.

Iris sighed as she walked over to the window. She watched as her father got into his car and drove way. “Are you okay, Barr?”

“No…”

She moved over to the couch and sat beside him after putting her cup of coffee down. “He’ll come around. He was totally against Eddie in the beginning.”

Barry shook his head. “That’s a bit like apples and oranges, Iris.”

“I know.” She rested her head on his shoulder. “The Flash and Captain Cold. Did you two...you know?”

Barry’s head sprung up so quickly that he bumped into Iris. “What? No. Of course we didn’t.”

Iris raised an eyebrow and said, “Barry…”

His cheeks burned brightly as he relented, “We might have if Oliver hadn’t interrupted.”

Her eyes went wide. “What did he interrupt? Spill!”

“You’re seriously okay with this?” asked Barry. It would be nice if one person didn’t look at him like he was ruining his life. 

“I am glad that you are happy, Barry. And I think I totally won the betting pool,” she replied with a mischievous smile.

Barry’s jaw dropped. “What betting pool?”

“The When-Will-Flash-And-Captain-Cold-Stop-Flirting-And-Shag-Each-Other-Senseless betting pool,” she said. Iris picked up her cup of coffee with a smug smile. 

“Who is in this betting pool?!” Barry squeaked.

Iris said, “Let’s see...there’s Lisa, Mick, Cisco, Felicity, Sara, Laurel, and me. Everyone picked a month. I chose February. The month of romance and love. Do I get to tell everyone I won?”

Barry just stared at her with a dumbfounded expression. 

“Barr?” 

“No.”

She smiled. “Not yet but soon. Just make it happen before March. I think that’s Felicity’s month.”

Barry stood up and said, “This is too strange for words and I need a shower. I still have to apologize to lying to everyone over lunch.”

“Buck up, Barr. At least you know Dad is the only person there that will be upset. And maybe Caitlin. She doesn’t know.”

He said, “And Oliver.”

She smiled. “I’m sure Felicity has been working on him already. She’s been Team Cold since December.”

Barry frowned. “All of you are very strange…”

“Says the man that spent the night with his arch nemesis,” Iris teased. 


	9. Just Like Riding A Bike

Len chuckled quietly as he parked in front of Lisa and Cisco’s house. It was a two-story contemporary style home in a neighborhood filled with young families and professionals. Just a year ago, he wouldn’t have believed that his sister was capable of settling down. However, a lot had changed for the Snart family in the last twelve months. Len couldn’t have known the wheels he set in motion by killing their father. He was just glad that they made it out of the storm he created. There were several scenarios of how everything could have gone much worse for them.

He grabbed a couple of shopping bags from the trunk of the car and then jogged up to the front porch. Len was running a little late because he stopped at a couple of stores first. He decided against turning up to his sister’s house empty–handed. He knew that Lisa was in a foul mood from his brief conversation with Cisco earlier in the morning. Len would be serving as her babysitter and source of entertainment while the kid had lunch with the rest of Team Flash at STAR Labs. Frankly, Cisco deserved a break and a medal for putting up with Lisa’s mood swings.

Cisco opened the front door before Len even raised his hand to knock. He was clutching a messenger bag and a set of keys in his hands. For a moment, he stalled as if he was thinking of something to say to the older man. Finally, he fumbled out, “Uh, hi, man. Lisa is on the couch in the living room resting. She’s waiting on you.”

Len quirked an eyebrow at Cisco’s strange behavior. However, he quickly realized that it was because the scientist knew that Barry stayed the night with him. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes because ultimately Cisco was a good kid. “How is she doing?”

“Better. Lisa’s mood did a complete 180 when I told her that you were coming over to hang with her for a while. Thanks for doing this…I know you don’t exactly have a lot of downtime between missions. Lisa misses you even if she won’t say it.”

Len didn’t need Lisa to say how much she missed him. She never liked being separated from her older brother for too long. However, his time in Iron Heights proved to be perhaps their most costly separation. Len would never forgive himself for the trauma she suffered while he took a sabbatical. “Well, I brought presents and that always tends to improve Lisa’s mood.”

Cisco grinned. He said, “Well, she should definitely still be in a good mood when I come back home then. I should get going. I don’t want to be late. You have my number if anything comes up.”

He shook his head. “She’ll be fine, Cisco. I won’t let her overdo it just because I’m here.”

He smiled sheepishly. “I get nervous leaving Lisa here. She is so stubborn and really doesn’t like following the doctor’s orders. I’ll be back in an hour or two at the latest.”

“Tell me about it,” Len replied. He watched as Cisco ran out to his car parked in the driveway before walking into the house. Len locked the front door and then went into the living room.

Lisa was curled up on the couch wearing a STAR Labs t-shirt and a pair of snowflake pajama bottoms. Her hair was pulled into a messy bun on top of her head and she had a fuzzy blanket wrapped around her shoulders. “You’re late, Lenny,” Lisa said with a pout.

He chuckled quietly and dropped a kiss onto her forehead. “I’m sorry that I’m late but I come bearing presents. Isn’t that better than being late and empty handed?”

She eyed the bags speculatively and hedged, “Maybe. It depends on what you bought and how expensive it is.”

Len shook his head and had a seat beside her on the couch. “How are you feeling, Lise? Really?”

“Health wise I am getting better. I have more energy and I think that Leo does, too. He’s been doing the samba in the there all morning,” Lisa replied as she pointed to her belly.

He laughed and said, “Well, that’s good news. You said that your health is better. What else is going on?”

She poked out her lip and said, “I’m essentially a beached whale, Lenny. Look at me.”

“You’re practically glowing, Lise.”

She rolled her eyes at him. “Save the meaningless flattery for the Flash. How is my new brother-in-law?”

Len was too skilled to show a visible reaction to Lisa’s jab. However, the strange feeling in his stomach could be considered butterflies for someone less badass than Captain Cold was. “Did you and Cisco get married without telling me?”

Lisa looked scandalized. “I would never. I couldn’t get married without you being there, Lenny. Besides, I’m much too vain to get married looking like this. Now quit stalling and give me details about last night.” She frowned as she reconsidered that statement. “Okay give me the details that won’t scar me for life and force me onto some poor psychiatrist’s couch.”

He smirked. “There isn’t much to tell. Barry stayed in my guest room last night after having a few too many drinks at Saints & Sinners.”

“Which hand would you like to lose full use of for the rest of your life? Left or right? I’m flexible,” Lisa asked. She reached underneath the couch and retrieved her gold gun.

Len raised his hands in mock surrender. “You’re positively cold, Lise.”

She simpered, “I learned from the best, Lenny.”

Len leaned back against the couch and closed his eyes. “Barry and I are going to have dinner tonight. I’m going to cook for him at my place. We’re going to try to have lunch tomorrow, too.”

Lisa grinned. “I knew it! I’ve been saying it for months. You  **_loveeee_ ** the Flash.”

“I wouldn’t say love…”

“No, you wouldn’t but I would. I thought that I was going to have to create some elaborate plot to get you two alone. It would have been a real laugh for me but I’m glad that you two morons worked it out on your own. How’d you do it anyway? Both of you seemed pretty set on ignoring the obvious chemistry between you. What changed?”

Len chuckled quietly. He was suddenly glad that Lisa had been on modified bed rest and unable to construct any of her usual schemes. “Everything…”

Lisa lowered the gold gun and really studied the expression on her brother’s face. He could hide from most people but never for her. “Lenny?”

“Something happened on my last mission before coming home. We were in Central City but it was eight years in the future,” Len replied. He looked down at her stomach with a wistful smile.

Lisa followed his gaze and perked up immediately. In a broken voice she asked, “Did you meet him? He’s okay?”

Len moved closer and pulled Lisa into a hug. He knew how worried she’d been about even being able to carry Leo to term. “He’s fantastic. You did such a good job, Lisa—you and Cisco. I can’t even explain how…amazing Leo will be. He’s…I guess you could say that he’s the reason that things between Barry and I jump started. Leo spotted me casing a museum and he ran up to me. He asked me if I was planning a heist. He picked my pocket like pro.”

Lisa choked out a watery laugh and rubbed her stomach. “That’s my boy.”

“He had ditched a field trip to a museum because he was bored. Anyway, he convinced me to take him to lunch. Then he wheedled a shopping spree at a comic book store out of me,” Len explained.

She beamed at Len. “He has you wrapped around his little finger.”

Len chuckled quietly. “Like mother, like son. While we were at the comic store, Barry showed up looking for Leo. Apparently, he runs off from time to time and the comic book store is one of his favorite places. Barry thought that I was my older counterpart and he kissed me. I was confused and Barry was confused. And Leo was amused by all of it. I couldn’t get Barry out of my head after I finished the mission and made it back here. Then last night I ran into him at Saints & Sinners and…”

Lisa laughed and rested a hand on her stomach. “You’re going to be a little hellion, aren’t you? Well, I wouldn’t have it any other way, Leo.”

Len asked, “Are you done grilling me?”

“For now.”

He chuckled. “Are you ready for your presents now?”

Lisa nodded and clapped her hands together excitedly. “Gimme!”

Len chuckled and asked, “Where’s Laila? I bought a few gifts for her, too.”

Lisa said, “She’s upstairs in her bedroom playing. Cisco made her an honest to God robot. She loves that thing more than she loves me now.”

He kissed her forehead as he stood up. Len grabbed three of the bags and handed them to Lisa. He said, “You know that isn’t true. Here open your presents and put the lip away.”

Lisa grinned and said, “These better be good, Lenny!”

Len chuckled as he carried the last two bags upstairs. He stopped in front of the Laila’s bedroom. The door had been painted a garish shade of pink and sparkly purple flowers were now glued to it. The girl’s name was spelled out in purple block letters at the top of the door. Laila definitely had her own sense of style. She was just as headstrong as he and Lisa were. Some things were just genetic.

He knocked and pushed the door open.

The eight year old sat in the middle of the room watching two action figures fighting in mid-air. Laila was wearing a Flash t-shirt and jeans. He could only assume that the lopsided ponytail was Cisco’s handiwork. Len was struck by just how much the younger man was taking care of his family while he was away. He didn’t like the feeling of shirking his responsibilities but this was to protect their future as well.

“Laila…”

The action figures dropped to the floor as Laila turned around to look at him. She hopped up from the floor and raced across the room to hug Len’s waist. She looked up at him with sparkling gray eyes and said, “You’re back.”

“I said that I would be. Didn’t I?” he asked.

She nodded. “I missed you, Lenny.”

He knew that Laila meant that she missed him while he was gone with Rip Hunter and the team. He missed her, too. Len didn’t get to spend nearly enough time with his little sister. He would make this right once his business with Savage was finished.

“I missed you, too. But I’m here now.” Len easily hefted her up into his arms and hugged her. “Having fun?”

She nodded. “Cisco bought me a new Flash doll.”

“I bet that he did. I bought something for you, too. Want to see?” asked Len.

She nodded excitedly. “What is it?”

Len chuckled and had a seat on her bed. He set one bag on the floor by his feet and handed her the other one. “Go on. Open it.”

Laila peeked into the bag and then looked up at Len confused.

“Take it out,” Len encouraged.

Laila took out a pink bike helmet. “Thank you…”

Len tried hard not to laugh at her obvious disappointment at the lame gift. He picked up the second bag and said, “Now open this one.”

Laila shoved the helmet aside and reached into the next bag. She pulled out kneepads and elbow pads. She looked up at him again in confusion. “Thank you, Lenny.”

Len chuckled quietly. “Did Cisco help you with your hair today?”

Laila nodded. She whispered, “It’s not very good.”

“You’re right. It’s not very good. Let me fix it for you,” Len said. He set Laila on the floor and then walked over to the dresser to retrieve a hairbrush. “Do you want one ponytail or two pigtails?”

Laila thought about it before answering. “I want pigtails, Lenny.”

Len picked up the box containing all of Laila’s fancy hair accessories. He set the box on the bed and took down the lopsided ponytail. It didn’t take Len very long to finish fixing Laila’s hair. He had more experience with ponytails and pretty barrettes than he’d like to admit from taking care of Lisa when she was this age. When Len finished the pigtails, he showed Laila the mirror. “What do you think, kid?”

“It’s pretty. You did a good job, Lenny. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” He chuckled and returned the hair products to the dresser. “Put on your helmet, the kneepads, and the elbow pads. Then come meet me outside. I have another surprise for you. Okay?”

Laila nodded. “Okay, Lenny.”

Len walked back downstairs to check on Lisa. “Like your presents?”

Lisa laughed. “They’re all for Leo but I am willing to forgive because they are adorable and I am feeling incredibly maternal right now. I didn’t even get jealous and kick up a fuss about the very expensive painting you stole for my sweet baby boy. What’d you get our baby sister?”

Len sat on the arm of the couch and chuckled. “I bought her bike. I don’t think she’s figured that out yet. Right now, she’s supposed to be putting on the helmet and pads I bought her. You should have seen her thanking me for the gifts she obviously didn’t like.”

“Yeah, she’s a real sweetheart. If there wasn’t a DNA test I wouldn’t believe that she was our sister for even a second.” Lisa went quiet for a moment and then said, “We did the right thing, you know. Sending her away. The best thing we ever did for Laila was making sure she never met him. He would have broken her…the way he broke us.”

He felt something tighten in his chest listening to Lisa talk about their father. It only made him wish that he had killed the bastard sooner. The good news was that Lewis never saw Laila even once. Len and Lisa made sure of that when the girl’s mother died after the particle accelerator exploded.  They stashed her at a boarding school in Gateway City. Len had a hard time understanding how a woman as nice as Kalenda ever fell under Lewis’ spell. She had been a librarian at Iron Heights while he served his sentence.

When Kalenda first gave birth to Laila she contacted the Snart siblings. She wanted them to be part of Laila’s life even if Lewis couldn’t from inside Iron Heights. Kalenda had a DNA test performed on Laila using Len and Lisa as reference samples to prove that she was in fact their sister. However, Len already knew that Laila was their sister. Despite having her mother’s caramel colored skin, Laila was the spitting image of Len. He hoped that she’d grow out of it eventually. Len was handsome but he wasn’t sure it was a look that would serve a girl well.

Laila walking down the stairs snapped her older siblings out of their thoughts.

Len looked up with a smile and said, “Come on, kiddo. I’ve got something to show you outside.”

Lisa huffed and picked up her cell phone from the coffee table. “I’m coming, too.”

“Lise…”

Lisa stuck her tongue out at Len as she pushed herself up from the couch with some effort. She groaned, “I am just going to be sitting down. I’m not missing this so shut it, big brother.”

Laila giggled.

Len looked down at Laila and started tickling her. He said, “Oh! You think that’s funny, huh?”

She squealed and batted at Len’s hands. “Don’t tickle me, Lenny.”

Len chuckled as he hefted the girl over his shoulder and walked outside. He set her on the top step and said, “I’ll be right back.”

Lisa sat down on the wicker loveseat. She swung her legs up onto it as she watched Len pull the bike out of his trunk. She could remember him teaching her how to ride a bike years ago. 

Laila squealed excitedly when she saw the purple and pink bicycle that Len sat on the sidewalk. She ran down the stairs and asked, “Is this for me?”

Len chuckled and stooped down so that they were at eye level. He straightened her elbow pads and said, “Yes, it’s for you. I promised that I was going to teach you how to ride a bike. Didn’t I?”

She nodded. “You did!” Laila looked toward the porch. “Look at my bike, Lisa!”

“I see it,” Lisa replied. She had her phone up recording the whole thing. “Get on it.”

She looked at the bike with uncertainty. Finally, she tried to get onto the bike without it tipping over.

Len helped Laila up onto the bike. “Don’t worry. I won’t let you fall.”

She looked up at him nervously. “Promise?”

“I promise, Laila,” said Len.


	10. To Grandfather’s House We Go

**Central City-2016**

 

Leo and Sofia decided to jump to March 15 th after several hours of debate, strategizing, and a little assistance from Gideon. They landed approximately forty-eight hours before the Great Blizzard of 2016 was set to strike Central City. Their working theory was that there had never been a squatter at Lewis Snart’s abandoned hunting cabin. Therefore, there was some concern that the cabin wouldn’t be even remotely habitable during a blizzard. Arriving early would give the pair an opportunity to confirm or disprove their theory and then react accordingly. It was very likely that they would need to do some minor repairs and shop for supplies.

They stashed the  _ Cyclone _ deep in the forest surrounding the hunting cabin and hiked to the destination on foot. It would have been easier to become Firestorm and fly the rest of the way because neither believed that they would find a squatter living at the elder Snart’s pied-a-terre but it was better to be safe than sorry. Gideon had repeatedly stressed the need to keep their footprints almost nonexistent in this period. The timeline was incredibly unstable because of the constant upheaval starting with the singularity that opened over the city nearly a year ago. The breaches leading to Earth-2, Barry’s time travel, and Rip Hunter’s actions only served to destabilize things even more.

When they reached the hunting cabin, Leo was taken aback by the dilapidated state of it. Over the years, the Snart siblings bulldozed the ramshackle cabin and built a family retreat in its place. Leo had great memories here with his extended family. It was important to get away from it all every once in awhile when you grew up in a family of superheroes. A couple times a year they put saving their city and the world on hold to come here and get away from it all. Sometimes even Team Green Arrow joined them. Oliver Queen and John Diggle gave all of the children survival training in this very forest.  

Sofia motioned that she would check around back to ensure that they were alone. She removed a tranquilizer arrow from her quiver and surreptitiously edged around the building. She lowered her bow and used the sleeve of her leather coat to clean away the dust on the window. Her eyes scanned the empty cabin before circling around to rejoin Leo. She announced, “It’s all clear.”

“I figured. There are cobwebs around the doorframe. No one has been here in years,” Leo replied. He holstered his tranquilizer gun and removed his lucky lock pick set from his pocket. Leo’s Uncle Len gave him the lock pick set on his 10 th birthday. From that day forward, he never left home without it. Leo dropped to one knee in front of the door and made quick work of the dual locks used to secure the door.

Sofia looked up at the sky. “The snow is already starting to come down.”

“Yeah, when they say blizzard...they meant. My mom said it took days for Central City to dig out.” Leo got to his feet and took a flashlight from his knapsack as he pushed open the door. He shined the light around the grimy cabin as he walked all the way inside. There were a few sticks of furniture but everything was covered with a thick layer of dust.

Sofia followed suit and said, “We’re going to have to clean this place up if your uncles are going to believe that a squatter was living here. At least there’s a fire place…they’re going to need it.”

Leo nodded in agreement. He could still see Sofia’s breath when she spoke despite being inside of the cabin. “I’ll need to cut some firewood and make sure that the fireplace’s chimney isn’t blocked by anything.”

“Not to mention the shopping for food and whatever supplies we’re going to need to make repairs. I noticed a broken window around the back. I guess it probably looks into the bedroom,” Sofia replied. She walked into the kitchen and opened the cabinets. There were a few cans of expired beans and a box of ammunition.

Leo followed her into the galley kitchen and leaned against the dusty countertop. “Do you think that we have enough time to get all of this done by ourselves?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. We’ll be pushing it close but we don’t have much of a choice in the matter. I guess we could jump back another day or two.”

“Or…we could enlist some help,” Leo suggested with a smirk.

Sofia’s eyebrows rose at the smirk on his face. “Why do I get the feeling I’m not going to like your plan?”

Leo’s smile widened as he kissed her. “Do you trust me?”

“85% of the time,” she replied.

“You wound me, Sof. You wound me deeply,” he teased.

“Leo…” However, the smile on her face belied the serious tone of voice.

He grinned. “It’ll be fine. I have been thinking about it since Gideon told us about the possibility of our parents dying in the battle against Zoom. I think that we should stay until we’re certain that they defeat Zoom. We’ll join them in battle only if it becomes necessary.”

Sofia had been having the same thoughts but it wasn’t without risks. Their actions could have ripples for generations to come. “We can’t do that, Leo. You’ll have already been born. There could be serious consequences if we intervene in a way that we shouldn’t.”

“Well, I’m not likely to cross paths with my younger self during the battle with Zoom. Uncle Len stashed Laila and me on the Wave Rider to protect us just in case something went wrong. I have a bad feeling, Sof. You know the rules about going back to prevent a death. If one of our parents dies…we won’t be able to come back to change it. It’ll be a fixed point in time and any intervention would cause a metacrisis. Our only chance is to prevent it from ever happening in this timeline. Besides, without our families there to stop him, Zoom will make Vandal Savage’s reign of terror look like child’s play.”

Sofia sighed because Leo knew exactly what button to push to get her on his side. It was the benefit of growing up together. They knew each other better than anyone else in the world did. Sofia understood sacrificing her own desires for the greater good. However, he knew that she would never turn her back on a world on fire.

Leo Snart Ramon and Sofia Dearden Queen were always going to march to the beat of their own drummer. Their parents were heroes. They had a collection of aunts and uncles that fought crime, time travelled, and on occasion saved the world from almost certain destruction. Those men and women taught them about loyalty, honor, and the true meaning of being a hero. It wasn’t just their families that would suffer if Zoom was allowed to run amuck on Earth-1 and Earth-2. Stopping him was the right thing to do even if they benefitted from the action, too.

He rested a hand on Sofia’s hip and pressed his forehead against hers. “You’re my other half, Sofia. Where would I be without you?”

Sofia closed her eyes for a second before she whispered, “Okay. Let’s do it.”

“Yeah?” asked Leo.

“You’d be lost without me, Ramon,” she teased. “We’ll make him wish he never came across the breach.”

Leo smirked as he dug into his knapsack and pulled out a ring box. “I’m really glad that you said that. If you disappeared from existence I’d have no one to give this to…”

Sofia’s jaw dropped as she stared at the velvet box. She jabbed him in the chest with her finger. “You better not be playing a prank on me right now. I will make you suffer in ways you can’t imagine. My dad used to be Ra’s al Ghul...I know things.”

“I would never…not about this. Not with you.” He slowly dropped to one knee and opened the box to reveal a princess cut emerald engagement ring.

Her smile widened when she saw the ring. “It matches my disguise.”

For the last few weeks Leo had tried to find the right moment to propose to Sofia but it never felt right. He planned to propose the night of his birthday party but he ended up pouting instead after learning that he’d be on Len’s crew. Leo was confident that they would defeat Zoom and save their parents. However, he decided that he couldn’t wait any longer. 

“I love you, Sofia. I can’t remember a time in my life when I didn’t love you. You’re the voice I hear in my head even when we’re not Firestorm. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?”

Sofia nodded because she didn’t think forming a coherent sentence was possible right now. She loved Leo long before they became Firestorm. In fact, their love for one another was the whole reason they were Firestorm. Leo ran toward danger to save Sofia instead of away from it. The end result was the two of them merging for the first time and nearly going nuclear. She supposed that they had Mark Mardon to thank for their abilities. If he hadn’t attacked STAR Labs this would have never happened. 

Leo grinned as he removed the ring from the box and slipped it onto her finger. “Fits like a glove…”

She nodded happily.

He stood up and kissed Sofia.

When she found her voice again, she asked, “Did Mattie steal this?”

He barked out a laugh and said, “No, Mattie didn’t steal your engagement ring for me. He offered but I declined. If anyone were going to steal an engagement ring for you, it would be me. Mattie helped me pick it out and I bought it. I figured giving you a stolen engagement ring wouldn’t be the greatest first step with your old man.”

Sofia wrapped her arms around his neck and giggled. “He loves you, Leo. Frankly, I don’t know why you’re so nervous for him to find out about us.”

“You aren’t the one that’s always expecting an arrow to the back when we go out on dates together. He sent you to an all girls boarding school, Sof,” Leo exclaimed.

She laughed and said, “In Central City of all places. It’s like they were daring us to hookup. Well, even if my dad doesn’t approve…my mom will be over the moon. She always told me to follow my bliss and it led me to you. Now you said something about getting help? Who did you have in mind?”

“You’ll see,” he replied. He pecked her lips and said, “We should get moving.”

“Okay.” She followed him out of the cabin and closed the door behind them.

Leo said, “We’re alone out here. How about we fly back to the  _ Cyclone _ ?”

Sofia grinned as she slipped her bow and quiver into her knapsack. She tossed it to Leo and said, “I thought you’d never ask.”

Leo chuckled and slipped her knapsack onto his back.

Flames enveloped them after they activated the tachyon bracelets on their wrists.

As Sofia leaned forward to kiss Leo, she was absorbed into the Firestorm Matrix.

He grinned and said, “Let’s fly, Tink.” Leo blasted off and soared over the treetops.

**_“You know we could still cause a meta crisis by fighting Zoom with our parents. We could collapse our own timelines and send ripples throughout everyone else's,” Sofia said._ **

Leo said, “If I’m going to end the world…I can’t think of anyone else I’d like to end it with.”

**_She snorted, “You say the sweetest things, Leo.”_ **


	11. The Team-Up: Part 1

**Central City-2037**

 

Leo looked at his watch as he sat on the hood of his car with Sofia. He reached into the bag between the two of them and grabbed a handful of onion rings. “I wonder what’s taking Mattie so long. Gideon said he went in 15 minutes ago. He should be finished by now. Or at the very least he should have vibed that we were out here waiting on him.”

Sofia laughed as sipped a chocolate milkshake through a straw. “You know your little brother considers himself to be an artist. And artists are notoriously mercurial. We’ll just have to wait until Mattie has finished his masterpiece. Honestly, I love his work.”

The younger Ramon brother liked to leave a bit of graffiti behind as his calling card.

“You only find Mattie to be so amusing because he isn’t your little brother,” Leo replied. “He’s been a pain in my neck since he decided to be born in the middle of my soccer game.”

She laughed. “Yes, I’m sure that Mattie was plotting to upstage your soccer game from within your mother’s womb.” Sofia tilted her head to the side and said, “Although, it does sound like something Mattie would do.”

Leo joined her in laughing and asked, “Right? My kid brother loves making a spectacle of himself.”

“So do you,” she teased. 

“I know but I’m better at it.” 

She smiled at Leo and then fell silent for awhile. 

Leo ate a few more onion rings and looked up at the stars. He reached over and slipped his hand into Sofia’s hand. “Penny for your thoughts?”

Sofia asked, “Do you know what scares me the most about all of this?”

“What?”

“It’s not the end of my existence because death happens for everyone and even if I am erased from time...I’ve lived. I have had 20 really amazing years. I’ve had a great family and I’ve had you. Anyone would be lucky to be able to say that.”

“Are you worried about me? Because you don’t need to be. I’m not going to let Zoom win.” 

She smiled. “Conceited, much? No, you’ll never have known me so it isn’t as if you will miss me. You’ll fall in love with someone else. Probably that girl that always tried to be your lab partner in Biology.”

He laughed quietly. “Sami? No, my mother hated Sami. There’s no way she would have ever let that happen. So, you aren’t worried about yourself or about me. What has you so scared?”

“I’m worried about my dad. If he dies in 2016, it’ll be before he’s ever truly been happy. It’ll be before he realizes that Uncle Tommy is alive. I hate to think of his life ending after a long string of tragedies. He deserves so much more from life. He deserves the day when the Justice League adds him to their ranks and validates everything he lost over the years. None of that happens if he’s cut down by Zoom.”

Leo took her face into his hands and kissed her softly. “The day the core at STAR Labs started to meltdown I was halfway out of the building when I looked behind me and realized that you weren’t there anymore. I ran back for you. When the dust settled everyone called me brave. They called me a hero.”

“You were a hero that day, Leo. You saved me and probably a large chunk of Central City. If we hadn’t merged and became Firestorm there would have been a lot more destruction.”

“I wasn’t a hero...at least not on purpose. I didn’t think about the consequences. I just knew that I wasn’t leaving that building without you. At the time I didn’t consider what it truly meant. I wasn't willing to lose you then and I’m not willing to lose you now. We’re going to make sure everyone survives Zoom’s attack. Then we are going to find a very public place to tell your dad that we’re getting married so he can’t kill me.” 

Sofia snickered and then squeezed his hand. “What about the Time Masters? They won’t be far behind. Our mission has taken longer than we expected. They’ll send someone after us soon.”

He smiled. “That’s another reason that we’re here to get help. We might not be able to lean on our parents for help in this situation but we’re not alone.”

A slender figure dressed in all black did a backflip off the roof of the jewelry store as if on cue. He stuck the landing and managed to look incredibly graceful doing it.

Leo hopped off the hood of his car and applauded. “Excellent dismount.”

Sofia clapped as well. “Bravo!”

Mattie ripped off his black mask and performed an elaborate bow before jogging across the parking lot. “Thank you. Thank you. You’re far too kind.”

Leo clapped his younger brother on the back. “What’d you steal this time, Mattie?”

He reached into his knapsack and pulled out a cherry wood box. He flipped open the top to reveal a diamond necklace and matching earrings.

Sofia whistled lowly. “Wow. The clarity of the stones is top-notch. You have impeccable taste, Mattie.”

Mattie smirked. “It’s a gift.”

Leo shook his head and smiled. “Don’t encourage him, Sofia. What are you going to do with that? It looks a little too mature for your girlfriend.”

“First, I don’t have a girlfriend. I have friends. I have many friends. I’m a very friendly person, Leo. Secondly, this is for Mom. Her birthday is coming up. You know the one where we aren’t allowed to say her real age anymore. She’s going to love my gift and me.”

Leo smiled and ruffled the teen’s shoulder length jet-black hair. “Mama’s boy.”

Mattie closed the box and returned it to his knapsack. “Is it my fault that I’m her favorite?”

“I think you confuse being the favorite with being the one that Mom has to baby. She still cuts the crusts off your sandwiches, Mateo,” Leo teased.

Sofia hopped off the hood of the car and whacked Leo’s arm. “Stop being mean to your brother.”

Leo threw his hands up in mock surrender.

Mattie smiled up at Sofia almost beatifically. He took her hand and placed a kiss across her knuckles. “And that is why I love you the most. I see my brother finally proposed to you. Congratulations. I’ve always wanted a sister.”

Sofia hugged him. “Thank you. I hear that you helped pick out the ring.”

“I did. I offered to nick it for him but he got all self-righteous about it. I guess I’ll just have to find another engagement gift for the two of you. How do you feel about boats?”

Leo pointed at his little brother. “You are not stealing a boat for us.”

Sofia giggled. “I’d rather you just paint something for us, Mattie.”

Painting was Mateo’s second love. He smiled and hopped up onto the hood of Leo’s car. He reached into the bag and grabbed some onion rings. “Mmm, Big Belly Burger. Anyone gonna tell me what you two are doing here?”

Leo shoved his hands into his pockets and asked, “Have you had any dreams lately, little brother?”

“You mean about Mom, Uncle Mick, and Uncle Ollie getting killed by Zoom? Yeah. They started last night. This morning Gideon said that you were unavailable so I assumed that you were dealing with it,” Mateo replied as he tossed an onion ring into his mouth.

Leo said, “We were dealing with it but…we need your help, Mattie. Your ability to see the future is something that would come in handy.”

Mateo sat up straight and grinned. “I’m going to time travel? Are you serious?” He looked at Sofia and asked, “Is he serious?”

Sofia laughed. “He’s very serious. We need your help. If the timelines are changing then what we know about the battle with Zoom might change, too. We need your insight.”

“Where do I sign up?” asked Mateo. “I've never stolen anything from the past. Do you think I could get away with stealing something from Uncle Lenny? That would be legendary.”

Leo chuckled. “We're trying to avoid any family members.”

Mateo hopped off the car. “Bro, don't worry. He'll never see me.”


	12. The Team-Up: Part 2

**Central City-2037**

 

Leo pulled into a parking space and turned off the car. He looked in the backseat and said, “Mattie, don’t spill that milkshake on my leather seats! This car is older than we are.”

“Relax! I ordered the triple thick milkshake and it’s not coming out through the straw. I’m going to have to eat it like ice cream,” he replied. Mateo was tilting the cup upside down to see if the shake would drip onto his outstretched hand.

Sofia pulled some napkins from the glove compartment and passed them to Mateo with a smirk. “Here...for when you inevitably make a mess back there with that milkshake.”

Leo just gave an exasperated sigh. He was resigned to the fact that there would be milkshake in his backseat. The only time that Mattie was careful was during a heist. Every other time he was a mess. “Sofia and I are going to go inside for a few minutes. Don’t move and don’t steal anything while we’re gone.”

Mattie said, “Don’t worry, bro. I’ll just be here being totally awesome and maybe getting some vibes about Zoom. You two go and do your James Bond thing.”

Leo hopped out of the car and walked around to open Sofia’s door. He was wearing a tuxedo and his normally unruly mop of chocolate brown hair had been slicked back with enough hair products to open a salon. He reached out and offered Sofia his hand. “Mrs. Ramon.”

Sofia grasped his hand and stepped out of the car. The crystals on her hunter green Grecian style gown glinted in the moonlight. “I think Mrs. Queen-Ramon sounds better.”

He pressed a kiss to her bare shoulder. “I just like the sound of you being my wife. Shall we?”

Sofia pushed the car door closed and walked up to the Central City Metropolitan Museum with Leo. Her steps faltered when she heard her phone vibrating inside of her purse again. Her parents had called occasionally in the last few hours. Dropping back into 2037 nearly 12 hours after they stole Captain Cold’s timeship hadn’t been in the plans. Unfortunately, it meant that their families realized that they were gone--even if they hadn’t a clue as to why.

Leo said, “Maybe you should answer the phone. Just to let your parents know that they shouldn’t worry about you.”

“No. My mom  and dad are really good at guilting the truth out of me. I’ll text them before we head back to 2016,” she replied.

He understood Sofia’s reluctance. Leo was dodging phone calls from his parents for exactly the same reason. He’d never get off the phone with his mother without telling her the truth. For a reformed criminal, Lisa had a surprising knack for interrogations.

The couple had to pass through a full-body scanner before entering the museum’s foyer. The extra security was unusual and it made Leo wonder what they were walking into.

Sofia removed an invitation from her clutch purse to show the guard standing in front of them.

“Good evening, Miss Queen.”

Sofia gave a radiant smile. “Good evening.”

The guard studied the invitation briefly and then returned it to her. “Please enjoy your night. The auction will begin in 30 minutes.”

She smiled at Leo. “It looks as if we’re just in time, Leo.”

“It appears that we are,” Leo replied. He guided her into the massive room where the guests were milling around, drinking champagne, and eating hors d'oeuvres.

Classical music played in the background as waiters moved through the crowd with trays of canapés and refreshments.

“We should split up. We’ll find them faster,” Sofia suggested.

Leo nodded and pecked her on the lips. He said, “I’ll look high, if you’ll look low.”

She winked at him and grabbed a flute of champagne off a server’s tray as she went in search of their next two targets.

Leo spun around and headed toward the staircase. The vantage point of the second floor would give him a better lay of the land. Unfortunately, it was hard to separate one muckety-muck from the other in a sea of tuxedos and expensive gowns.

He slowly wove through the crowded second floor. However, Leo quickly realized their targets weren’t there. They had to be in the crush of humanity on the museum’s main level. Leo picked a central point on the second floor and stood near the railing so that he could look at the guests gathered below.

He froze as a memory washed over him but it wasn’t his memory to have. Leo, this version of Leo, had never run into his Uncle Len here while on a field trip. Yet he could remember it clear as day right now. The timelines hadn’t cemented yet or Leo wouldn’t realize it didn’t happen for him that way. However, remembering it at all was troubling to say the least. It was the equivalent of an afterimage in time travel. The window of opportunity was rapidly closing.

Sofia whipped around and looked up to find Leo. She didn’t know what happened but she could feel his distress through their connection. She searched the second floor for Leo and then started move in his direction.

“What are you doing here, Sofia?”

She whirled around to look up at her older brother. Sofia smiled and hugged him. “Looking for you, Will.”

He took the glass of champagne from her hand and smiled. “You’re lucky Dad is running late. You know how he feels about underage drinking.”

“He’s such a hypocrite. One of these days, I’m going to plaster his office with that mug shot of him looking like a serial killer. He peed on a police car, William,” said Sofia with a huff.

Will nearly choked on the champagne as he chuckled. “He’d like for us to be better people.” He playfully bopped her on the nose and said, “You still haven’t said why you’re here looking for me.”

“Can’t I just want to catch up with my big brother? ARGUS has been keeping you very busy lately and I miss you.” Sofia might have been laying it on a little thick but it was mostly true.

His eyebrow rose at that. “You want to catch up while I’m in the middle of a mission? Soffffiiiia,” he sing-songed.

Sofia grinned. “Okay. I need your help. I need Laila’s help, too. I figured she would be here with you tonight. Two birds with one stone and all of that. Where is she?”

Will vaguely made a circle with his finger. “She’s around. What kind of help do you need?” He grabbed her left hand and smiled. “Do you want me to stop Dad from killing your fiancé?”

“Maybe later. Right now we have more pressing concerns,” Sofia replied.

“More pressing than becoming a widow before you’ve even walked down the aisle?” asked Will. He placed the empty champagne flute on the empty tray of a passing server. “Do tell.”

Sofia said, “Queen’s Gambit.”

Will’s eyes darkened when his sister uttered their family’s panic word. He stepped closer and lowered his voice. “Are you okay?”

“This isn’t really something that can be explained quickly. Find Laila and meet us outside,” said Sofia.

Will grimaced and said, “I’ll get Laila and meet you outside in 15 minutes. She’s nearly done with our part of the mission. I need to call Dad.”

Sofia grabbed his hand. “You can’t tell him about this, Will. He can’t be involved. None of them can.”

He studied her face for a moment and then nodded. “I’ll tell him that Laila and I got food poisoning. He won’t believe me but he’s hardly one to object to embarrassingly transparent lies.”

Sofia kissed his cheek and said, “Thank you.” She made a beeline for the staircase and headed up to meet Leo. Sofia couldn’t shake the feeling that washed over her a few minutes ago. Leo wasn’t someone that was easily rattled.

Leo met her halfway. “I see that you caught up with your brother.”

“He found me. He always does. Are you okay, Leo? I felt…”

He shook his head. “I’m fine. It was just a memory that doesn’t belong to me...yet. We’ve got to get back to 2016 soon.”

Sofia looked concerned but recognized that Leo didn’t want to discuss it any further. She said, “Will is grabbing Laila and then they’ll meet us outside. We need to get out of here before my dad shows up.”

“Uncle Barry is sure to be involved if your dad is running an op here in Central City. It’d probably be best not to run into him either. Let’s go,” Leo said. He took Sofia’s hand and walked down the stairs with her.

They exited the museum and headed to the parking lot where Leo’s car was parked.

Mattie stuck his head out the window. “How’d it go?”

Sofia said, “Will and Laila will be here in a few minutes. We sort of interrupted something important.”

“Hero stuff,” Mattie said while making a face.

Leo said, “You’ll be a hero someday, too.”

“No, thanks. I think I’ll just be neutral like Uncle Mick. I’ll steal neat stuff and occasionally set a fire or two.”

“My baby brother the delinquent,” Leo quipped with a smile.

Sofia said, “Here they come.”

Will and Laila walked over to the group.

Mattie stuck his head out the window again. “Hey, Aunt Laila. Hello, Not-Uncle.”

Laila smiled warmly at Mattie. “Hey, buddy.”

Will chuckled quietly. “Hello, Not-Nephew.”

Laila looked incredibly concerned. She asked, “What’s going on, Leo? Lenny said you took his time ship without a word. Now you’re turning up here while we're in the middle of an operation to take down a group of very nasty arms smugglers.”

Leo said, “I’m sorry. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t important. I didn’t know who else to turn to now. Check your phone. I had Gideon send you a video.”

She pulled her phone from her purse and opened the message from Gideon.

William moved closer to watch the video with her.

When it ended they both looked up at Leo.

Sofia said, “Gideon said that Dad will die, too. It means that I wouldn’t…there’d be no me.”

Will sighed and hugged her. They all grew up knowing the dangers that time traveling presented.

Laila was reeling as she thought about a world without her older sister. Lisa was the sibling that raised her. She belatedly realized it meant that they’d lose Mattie as well. “What do you need from us, Leo?”

“Come back to 2016 with us. We have to make sure Zoom dies that day…the way he always has and without taking any of the good guys with him,” Leo replied.

Will looked over his shoulder at Laila. “I’m in.”

She nodded. “So am I.”

Will asked, “Is this everyone?”

Leo smiled and said, “I’ve asked one other person to join us. We’ll need to make one last stop before we can go back to 2016.”


	13. The Team-Up: Part 3

**Central City--2037**

 

Leo took off his tuxedo jacket as he walked onto the  _ Cyclone _ . They needed to leave the year 2037 as soon as possible. Even making the last minute stop in Gotham could prove to be risky. At any moment, the Time Masters or his Uncle Len could descend on the  _ Cyclone _ . Both were probably scanning Central City while waiting for him to return. Gideon was doing everything possible to throw everyone off the trail but subterfuge and cloaking could only go so far. There was also the little matter of the increasing number of afterimages that Leo had been experiencing since leaving the museum. If they didn’t get back to 2016 soon they might lose their window of opportunity altogether.

He was convinced now more than ever that coming back to the present was the right decision. Trying to go it alone would have been a stupid and prideful mistake that might have gotten him and Sofia killed. It was too dangerous to lean on his parents or extended family for assistance right now. Nevertheless, it didn’t mean that Leo was without resources. The team he assembled had been trained by the very best in the world. Leo knew that he could count on all of them in battle--even Mattie. Despite his brother’s disdain for heroics he was still a capable fighter and someone Leo could always trust to have his back.

Leo absently pulled out his phone. His mother was calling for the sixth time in the last hour. He seldom hid anything from Lisa. Leo hated that he was making her worry about him. He knew that he was only making it worse by taking Mattie with him. Leo sent her call to voicemail and started typing a text message.

Sofia could sense that Leo was still a bit off kilter. He seemed to be lost in his own thoughts once again. Sofia would ask him what was going on when they had a moment alone. His head had to be in the game if they were to succeed. She said, “Everyone should pick a room and drop off their stuff. The bridge is no place to have unsecured objects once we are in the temporal zone. They’ll quickly become projectiles.”

Mattie grinned as he took off down the corridor. “I’ve got dibs on Uncle Lenny’s bunk.”

Laila laughed with a shake of her head as she followed Mattie with her bags. They had stopped off to pick up essentials like clothes, disguises, and equipment. During fights, Laila used her telekinetic powers the majority of the time. However, she was also proficient with an array of weapons at Lisa’s insistence. She never wanted Laila to rely too heavily on her powers because life was chaotic and often unpredictable.

Will glanced at Leo with concern but decided to leave the younger man in Sofia’s capable hands. If anyone could get through to Leo, it would be her. Will looked around with interest as he walked down the corridor. He had never had the occasion to visit the  _ Cyclone _ before now. He decided that Laila’s descriptions hardly did the vessel justice.

Laila dropped her bags onto the bunk and looked to Will. “You and I are going to have to be very careful in Central City, Will. We’re the only ones that will have to worry about running into our younger selves.”

He dropped his bags beside Laila’s and wrapped his arms around her. “Our families are also more likely to recognize us. Neither of us looks all that different than we did 21 years ago.”

“Well, you’re taller,” Laila teased.

William chuckled against her ear. “And so are you.” He rested a hand on the small of her back and asked, “How are you handling all of this?”

She shrugged. “Losing Lisa would destroy Lenny and Cisco. I don’t want to think about the sort of man my big brother would become if Zoom took her from us. I have to believe that it would change the entire trajectory of his life. I hate to think of all the good he’s done for the world being wiped away.”

“I was asking about you. I know Lisa is like a mother to you, Laila,” Will replied. 

“I’m trying not to think about it at length. I had a hard time adjusting after my mother died in front of me. Sometimes I had multiple nightmares within the same night. Lisa would just hold me and sing to me. She made me feel safe. Lisa left Central City for months until I was ready to go to school in Gateway City. She’s made so many sacrifices for me over the years and I’m terrified of what life will be...of what I will be if she’s not there.”

William just held her tighter.

She asked, “Are you worried about your dad? You haven’t said very much.”

He said, “Sure but then I always worry about my dad. He’s always running headlong into danger--it’s what heroes do. But I know that Zoom isn’t invulnerable. He can’t outmaneuver all of us. Our biggest challenge will be avoiding any major changes to the timeline.”

She smiled and said, “Come on. We should go back to the bridge. You really don’t want to be standing when this thing starts moving.”

Will and Laila walked onto the bridge where Leo, Sofia, and Mattie were already waiting.

Leo loosened his tie and said, “Good. We are all ready. We’re going to jump to Gotham first to pick up the last member of our team. Then Gideon and I will get us back to the year 2016. We can come up with a solid plan once we are back there. I promise to explain everything at length then.”

A man with dark hair in his early 30’s walked onto the bridge wearing a dark gray suit. He smiled at the assembled group and said, “Going to Gotham won’t be necessary. Gideon contacted me earlier tonight and asked me to fly out here to meet you, Leo. She didn’t think that you’d have as much time as you originally thought you would.”

“Thanks for coming, Dick,” Leo said. He realized that the afterimages meant exactly what he thought that they did. Their window of opportunity was rapidly closing.

Laila smiled brightly and exclaimed, “Dick! I can’t believe you’re here.”

Dick crossed the bridge in seconds and swept Laila off her feet. He spun her around and then hugged her. “You are a sight for sore eyes, Laila Snart.”

“It is so good to see you too, Dick.”

“You look beautiful tonight.”

She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear as she looked up at him. “Oh. Thank you. I was on a mission at a charity auction tonight when Leo and Sofia showed up to recruit me. How are you?”

“Good. Busy...but good. I’m sorry that I missed our monthly coffee date. Things were a little crazy with Bats out of commission. Keeping an eye on Damian and Tim is sort of a full-time job. They are...”

Laila laughed. “I get it. I don’t have any younger siblings but I grew up in the house with Leo and Mateo. They are both the epitome of being a handful. We will be stuck together during a blizzard in the year 2016. We’ll have plenty of time to catch up.”

Mattie asked, “Where’s Helena?”

Dick was still holding Laila with a smile on his face. He distractedly replied, “She’s taken over the babysitting duties while I am here with all of you. Hellie is very disappointed that she couldn’t join us on this little jaunt through time.”

William had been standing off to the side waiting for Dick and Laila to separate. The longer it took the more agitated he became. He pushed off the wall and walked over to the pair. William cleared his throat and said, “Hello, Grayson.”

Mattie sing-songed, “Things are gonna get awkward.”

Dick placed Laila on her feet and extended his hand to Will. “Hello, Queen.”

William and Dick glared at each other as they shook hands.

Laila rolled her eyes at their pig headed behavior and walked away from both of them.

Sofia nudged Leo with her elbow to get him to intervene in some way. Her older brother was most definitely the jealous sort. Will was known for fighting much to their father’s chagrin. Laila’s history with Nightwing only complicated matters more. The two men really only played nice in front of Green Arrow and Batman. Otherwise, they tended to be at one another’s throat.

Leo said, “Okayyyy...we’re going to get underway since the gang’s all here. The first time in the temporal zone can be a real kick in the teeth. Buckle up, everybody. And try not to puke.”

Everyone ran to a seat while Leo took the helm. He fastened the harness and then spun around so that he was looking outward. He could only hope that when he returned to this year that everything would be as they left it.

“Next stop Central City the year 2016. Gideon, you know what to do.”

“Certainly, Captain Ramon,” Gideon replied.

Leo smirked, “I could get use to being Captain Ramon.”


	14. Is That You Auntie, Em?

**Central City--2016**

 

Len leaned against the bar and watched in amusement as Kendra tried to get Ray to dance with her. The bass in the song was heavy and the beat was fast paced. Unfortunately, Ray’s uncoordinated body just seemed unable to follow either one. The man was so obviously out of his comfort zone in Saints & Sinners, but he was willing to do just about anything for Kendra. Everyone on the  _ Wave Rider _ could see how head over heels they were for each other, even if Palmer had awkwardly tried to explain that it was just casual. They might want it to be  **_casual_ ** but it was anything but. 

Sara sauntered over to the bar after the song ended. She had just finished dancing with Jax non-stop for almost 20 minutes. It felt good to break loose after being cooped up on the ship for so long. After awhile it was just in her nature to get antsy. She wasn’t good at staying in one place for too long. A few days in Central City would be a nice change of pace for all of them.

She bumped Len with her shoulder and said, “I figured you would have ditched us by now, Snart. What are you still doing here? Don’t you have a red leather wearing sweetie waiting to welcome you home?”

He smirked and looped an arm around Sara’s waist. He said, “I promised the good doctor that I would look after his better half. He didn’t want the kid doing anything reckless on account of his broken heart. I’m inclined to agree after seeing all those forlorn looks he’s been tossing Kendra’s way tonight.”

Sara snickered, “I’m surprised that Martin didn’t leave instructions forbidding Jax from drinking.”

“He did,” Len drawled. “But when I babysit we live by my rules. The kid doesn’t know it now but Palmer did him a major favor.”

“What do you mean?”

Len said, “A threesome is only fun if everyone is on equal footing--or else someone starts to feel like the odd man out. Palmer’s in a threesome with Kendra and her dead soul mate. That’s a lesson that Jax could stand to wait a few years to learn.”

Sara hummed but didn’t reply. She’d been thinking the same thing. Jax didn’t have the emotional maturity to handle the complications Ray would inevitably face. 

“You’ve been doing your part to keep the kid entertained,” he quipped.

“Just barely. Who doesn’t love a good grind on the dance floor? But he knows it isn’t exactly heading anyplace rewarding. I figure if we keep pouring liquor down Jax, he’ll fall asleep before the night is over.”

Len looked across the room to where Jax looked to be doing just that at in a booth with Mick.

Sara asked, “Did Rip’s explanation for why we needed to come back to this time for our  **_shore leave_ ** make any sense to you?”

He scoffed. “Not in the least. He didn’t seem particularly enthused about it. I overheard him arguing with Gideon but I couldn’t make out the particulars. I heard something about a cyclone. There’s something he isn’t tellings us.”

“Again,” she muttered.

Winnie walked up behind them and placed new drinks on the bar. 

Sara looked over her shoulder when she heard a glass clunk down behind her. She flashed a sultry smile at the bartender before turning back to Len. “What do you know about the bartender?”

Len looked back at Winnie as she walked to the other end of the bar. He smirked replied, “She’s flexible. Very flexible…”

“Are we speaking from experience, Leonard?” Sara practically purred. Her eyes were alight with mischief. 

“A gentleman doesn’t kiss and tell.”

Sara tossed back her drink and said, “Well, looks like I will just have to find out for myself.”

“Good luck,” he replied. 

“Oh, I don’t need luck.” Sara removed a couple of pins from her hair and allowed the golden tresses to fall loosely around her shoulders. Afterwards, she grabbed Len’s drink and strutted to the other end of the bar where Winnie was lingering.

Len shook his head with a wry smile. He walked over to Mick’s booth and rested an arm over the back of the side where Jax was slumped. He raised his eyebrows. “How long he been out?”

Mick was flicking his lighter idly and shrugged. He said,“I don’t know. He was bitching for a while and I stopped listening after a point. We’ve got to get him laid before the next trip.”

Len didn’t exactly disagree with Mick’s solution to Jax’s problem. It is what he always did in that situation. He frowned, “Don’t exactly know any girls his age.”

Mick’s eyebrow went up at that. “Ain’t gotta be that complicated.”

“I’ll get the kid drunk but I draw the line at paying for a prostitute.”

A deep laugh rumbled out of Mick’s chest. “Not what I was suggesting, Snart. What about Shawna?”

Len said, “There’s an idea. I’ll talk to Lise and see if Baez is single these days.”

“We got the kid sorted. What about you?” Mick asked with an amused look. Len had been moody lately. Everyone knew it was because he’d left Central City without closing the deal with the Flash.

“I’m supposed to be watching the kid,” Len said. He knew it was a weak response but it was all that he had. Their date had been good--simple. Len cooked dinner at his place and they watched Scarface together. However, at the end of the night Barry scurried home.

Mick snapped his lighter shut and shoved it into his pocket. He moved by Len and hefted Jax over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. “I’ll take care of the kid and let him sleep it off.”

Len’s eyebrows rose at the idea of Mick offering to take care of anyone. He must have really been getting on his partner in crime’s nerves lately. “It’s late. Barry is probably asleep...at home, the home he shares with Joe West.”

He snorted, “Never known you to be a coward, Snart.”

Len ground out, “Watch it.”

“Well, then quit hiding out and go see ‘im before he realizes that you are 17 years older than him,” Mick teased in a gruff voice. He walked away without another word. Mick knew that Len could hang around for hours arguing. Leaving him to stew usually got him to spring into action. 

Len was about to ask Mick where he was taking Jax but stopped when he saw the older man walk toward a door at the back of the bar. The Rogues had an apartment over Saints & Sinners that they used as a safe house from time to time. 

He looked over to where Sara was now behind the bar flirting with Winnie and helping her fix drinks. 

He ran a hand over his head and muttered, “Fuck it.”

Len marched over to the bar and said, “Sara, pass me my helmet.”

Sara smiled knowingly and handed him the helmet. “Tell Barry that I said hi.”

He rolled his eyes and said, “Make sure Palmer gets out of here without getting robbed.”

“On it,” Sara replied with a mock salute.

Len walked out of the bar with the helmet tucked under his arm. He stopped in front of his motorcycle and checked his watch. It was nearly 2 o’clock in the morning. Len briefly considered going home since it was already lightly snowing. However, the pull of seeing Barry was just too strong. The speedster was under his skin. Len wasn’t fooling anyone but himself on that front. 

He had just been battling this sinking feeling that what he had with Barry was too good to be true. Snarts didn’t get happy endings. Even people Snart adjacent suffered similar fates his and Lisa’s mother came to mind along with Laila’s mother. Len didn’t believe in curses but sometimes it felt as if their family might be under one.

He put on his helmet as he climbed onto the motorcycle and took off for the West home. Len purposely took the long way over there since the streets were virtually deserted from combination of the time of night and weather. The solitude of the chilly ride helped calm whatever nerves he was having about seeing Barry again. 

He killed the engine when he arrived and pulled off his helmet. The last thing Len needed was to wake up the overprotective Detective West. He had it on good authority that the older man stormed out after finding out that Barry spent the night with Len.

He reached into his pocket and frowned when he didn’t feel the phone. Len patted all of his pockets in vain. He was now certain that he’d left his phone sitting on the bar at Saints & Sinners.

Len groaned and shook his head. There was no way he was going back over there to get his phone. He’d never come back if he did that. 

Len looked at the second floor and tried to remember where Barry’s room was located. He’d been in the house twice in the past. Once when he was invited and another time when no one was there. Detective West really should have better security if he didn’t want people like Len breaking into his house. 

He settled on a window on the side of the house and gathered up a handful of gravel. Len pelted the window hoping to wake up Barry without disturbing the rest of the house. 

He smiled when the lights went on in the bedroom. 

The window opened and Iris looked down with bleary eyes. She blinked. “Snart? What are you…?”

“Oh, Miss West. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.”

Iris grinned like a Cheshire cat as the haze of sleep lifted more. “I’m sure that you didn’t. Barry’s room is the next window over. He sleeps like the dead. I’ll go wake him up for you. Wait there.”

“Thanks.”

“Anything for true love,” she quipped and disappeared from the window.

Len dropped the rest of the gravel in his hand and wiped the dirt off on his denim jeans. He awkwardly stuffed his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket as he waited.

He watched the darkened bedroom window for a few minutes before a dimmer light glowed through the fabric of Barry’s curtains. 

The window slid open and Barry stuck his head out of the window and gawked at Len comically. His hair was standing up at odd ends and he was shirtless. 

“Hey, Scarlet.” Something in Len’s chest loosened when he saw Barry. He hated when Mick was right about normal human interactions. That was not how their relationship was supposed to go.

Barry yawned and smiled sleepily. “Wanna come up?”

“Think that’s wise?” asked Len. 

Iris elbowed Barry to make him move over. “Yeah. Dad dozed off downstairs on the couch watching a documentary. He won’t wake up til morning.”

“Any good at climbing?” Barry asked in jest.

Len eyed the trellis positioned between the bedroom windows. He smirked and waggled his eyebrows suggestively. “Anything for you, Scarlet.”

Barry’s jaw dropped as he watched the older man scale the trellis with ease.

Iris giggled at the ridiculousness of both men. She had spent the better part of the evening trying to get Barry to meet up with Snart at Sinners & Saints but the speedster refused. He didn’t want to intrude on the team’s night out together.

Len hoisted himself into the bedroom window once he made it to the top and smiled. “Thanks for the assist, Miss West.”

“It was my pleasure and you can just call me Iris. Have a good night, fellas.”

Barry followed Iris over to his bedroom door and then locked it. Joe would most likely sleep til morning but it would be better if he didn’t accidentally stumble across Len in his house. 

Len was across the room and had Barry pressed against the door as soon as he turned around. The air around them seemed to crackle with electricity as they stared at one another intently. 

Barry trembled with anticipation when Len leaned in as if he was about to kiss him. However, the man bypassed his lips altogether and went straight for his neck. “Iris is probably texting Lisa as we speak,” he muttered.

Len skimmed his free hand over the waistband of Barry's pajama bottoms and murmured against his neck, “I don’t care. Sara knows I was headed here.”

He groaned as he felt the beginnings of a passion mark that Len seemed determined to leave on his neck. “You know they have a betting pool going, right?”

That piece of information made Len pause. He looked up at the speedster and said, “Come again?”

Barry’s cheeks went crimson. “They have a betting pool about when we will...you know…Iris, Lisa, Sara, Felicity, Mick, Cisco, Laurel. They even have Peek-a-boo in on it now since she’s been helping plan Lisa’s baby shower.”

Len felt a wave of heat rush his stomach at the way Barry blushed. He chuckled lowly and asked, “Really?”

The speedster didn’t know why his mouth suddenly felt so dry. He nodded. “Uh huh. Fifty dollar buy-in.”

Len’s lips moved up to Barry’s ear. He said, “I wonder if it is too late to get in on this betting pool because I have a fairly good idea of when it will happen.”

Barry’s eyes went wide. He stuttered, “W-w-we can’t. Not here. Joe would literally kill you if he found out.”

Len’s eyes lit up as he smiled at him. “Not tonight, Scarlet. Definitely not in this house with Iris next door. I'm a gentleman after all.”

“When?” Barry looked shocked as if he hadn’t meant to ask that question.

“Tomorrow night. At my house with no interruptions and enough sound proofing so that when I take you apart my neighbors won’t call the cops,” Len replied in a sotto voice.

Barry grabbed the front of Len’s jacket to help steady his weak knees. The man’s level of sexiness was just unfair. He asked, “Then why did you come over tonight?”

The heat in Len’s eyes died down and was replaced with something else--something soft. “Just wanted to see you, Barry.”

The younger man grinned and threw his arms around Len’s neck. “I missed you, too.”

Len faltered when he heard Barry say that he was missed. 

“Do you wanna stay the night? I mean...just sleeping but it’d be nice to wake up next to you,” Barry said. The question was uttered in a tentative voice as if he thought Len would say no.

Len growled against his ear. “You’re going to be the death of me, Scarlet.”

“Only if Joe catches you,” Barry said teasingly. “You’ll stay?”

He nodded. “Yeah.”

Barry grabbed Len’s hand and pulled him over to his bed. He unzipped Len’s jacket the rest of the way and pushed it off his shoulders. “We just have to get you out of here in the morning before Joe sees your motorcycle outside.”

“I always wake up early. I don’t think it’s something we need to worry about.”

Barry smiled and said, “Good. Now come to bed.”


	15. Dueling Masters

**Central City--2016**

 

Leo stepped out of the hunting cabin and scrubbed a tired hand down his face. He was marginally jealous of Mattie’s ability to fall asleep no matter the situation. His younger brother was asleep on the dusty couch in the living room without a care in the world. Leo was exhausted but he probably wouldn’t be able to sleep even if he had the time to spare. He had spent the last two hours discussing his plan in detail with the team. After some tweaks and a few concessions everyone was in agreement and began divvying up the tasks on Leo’s list. 

There was a lot to get done in the span of two days. They needed to complete a few essential repairs to the hunting cabin so that Len and Barry wouldn’t freeze to death while stranded there. They also needed to stock the place with supplies and enough firewood to last three days. Laila, Sofia, and William took the jumpship into the city to go shopping at a 24-hour superstore. They hoped that the late night shopping trip would prevent them from running into family members. William and Laila also needed to avoid running into their younger counterparts. 

Once the team finished preparing the cabin it would be time to practice. They had all previously worked together in different combinations--with Mattie being the only exception. However, they had never worked together as a team and that could be a liability. While kidnapping the Flash and Captain Cold presented challenges, they were more concerned about being able to successfully defeat Zoom. They would have to help Team Flash, Team Green Arrow, and the Rogues Gallery fight Zoom without them knowing. It was a tall order, one none of them were certain that they could pull off with any level of accuracy. 

The only good news was that Leo was experiencing fewer afterimages now that they were in the year 2016. If everything went to plan here perhaps the afterimages would disappear altogether. Leo was just grateful that his splitting headache was gone so that he could focus. Everyone was looking to him for leadership despite the fact that he was the third youngest person on the team. However, he was the only Time Master among them and he was the one that brought them together. They were all his responsibility. Leo was suddenly grateful for all the times his uncles and parents insisted that he spend his weekends training.

Dick walked out of the cabin and stopped beside Leo. He clasped his hands behind his back as he stared up at the clear night sky. “I don’t know why I expected it to look different…”

Leo turned to look at the older man and asked, “The stars?”

“Everything,” he replied. 

Leo hummed in agreement. He’d had the same expectations the first time he time-traveled. 

Dick asked, “Why did you want me on your team? I think the four of you would have had everything well in hand without me.”

“You’re one of the best tacticians that I know, Dick. Besides, I’ve never led a team into battle before. I could use your experience and expertise. There will be so many moving parts during the fight with Zoom and such a small margin for error. The majority of my attention will have to be focused on avoiding a metacrisis. Beating Zoom will hardly matter if I cause time as we know it to implode. I need your help...I need you to be focused on how to stealthily win the fight.”

He smirked and then looked up at the sky again. “Yes, you said as much inside but I think we both know it isn’t strictly the truth. Loathe as I may be to admit it, Queen is a capable leader. He trained under the Green Arrow and has worked for ARGUS for several years now.”

Leo laughed quietly. “Fair. I wanted you here because, we may fail…”

“We might not but it is prudent to have a contingency in place. I get the feeling that I am that contingency.”

The younger man nodded. He looked at Dick with a tired expression. “If we fail...the changes to our timelines won’t cement automatically. There will be time before Mattie and Sofia begin to disappear. I’ll have to get them away from here. Away from this time...away from this Earth. What do you know about the multiverse?”

Dick frowned. “Not as much as I would like but enough to follow a conversation about it. There are an infinite number of Earths vibrating at different frequencies so that they can occupy the same space at the same time without touching. Travel between the these universes are possible for speedsters or if there is a pre-existing breach between the two worlds.”

Leo smiled wryly, “You know more than the mere basics. The timelines on those Earths are very different from the one here. The Flash spent time mapping out as many of them as he could. There are breaches all over Central City. Some have been closed and others remain open. We know of 52 different Earths at this point. My family doesn’t exist on several of those. If we jumped through a breach before the events of the battle cement then Mattie and Sofia should remain intact even as they are erased from this Earth’s timeline.”

Dick gave the younger man a dubious look. “Are you certain that it will work?”

“No. But the alternative is to do nothing while my baby brother and my best friend fade out of existence before my eyes.”

He nodded in understanding. He would do the same if faced with this dilemma. “What purpose do I serve in your contingency plan?”

Leo said, “You have to make sure that Laila and Will make it back home to 2037. They will just have watched family members die. And I’ll be abandoning them. Their timelines will be ripped apart and rearranged in some unrecognizable fashion. I brought you along because your timeline might change but not so much that you would become confused.”

“Why wouldn’t you just take them with you? Laila will be heartbroken. She’s going to need you.”

He shook his head. “The logistics don’t work. Sofia and I will be merged as Firestorm. It will be simple enough for me to pluck Mattie up and open the breach of my choice before they begin to fade. I can’t search for Will and my aunt. It’ll eat up too much time. But I also don’t want to leave Uncle Lenny alone in the future. My mother and Uncle Mick will be dead. He’ll be all alone and I can’t bare to do that to him. He’ll need Laila and she’ll need him. Gideon will know exactly what to do if I have to make the jump. She’ll help you get home.”

Dick squeezed Leo’s shoulder. “You have my word that I will get Laila and William back to our time safely if the worst was to happen. However, we are going to do our very best to make sure none of this comes to pass. A world with Zoom would be a catastrophe. The accounts I have read about him are terrifying...and he wasn’t even at the height of his power. We have to stop him.”

“That’s the plan,” Leo croaked out. He didn’t feel good about what he might have to do if they failed. He hadn’t even discussed it with Mattie or Sofia. Leo wasn’t sure that he would or if he even should. 

“A very good one, Leo. You hardly needed me here to be a tactician but I am glad to help,” Dick replied. 

Both men looked toward the thick row of trees in front of them when they heard the over exaggerated rustle of leaves. 

Leo drew his gun from the holster that rested at his hip. He pointed it in the direction of their uninvited guest. The Time Masters descending upon them was a distinct possibility. 

Rip walked out of the forest with a friendly wave. Sneaking up on a Snart, even from the younger generation, was inadvisable. “Only me…”

Leo slowly lowered his gun. “What are you doing here, Captain Hunter?”

Dick returned his batons to their holders but gave the older man a wary look. He had heard of Rip Hunter but they had never met.

“I’ve come to offer my assistance. I’ll admit that I wasn’t thrilled when Gideon insisted that I bring the team back to 2016 immediately. However, I didn’t realize just how dire circumstances here had become. I thought that I had more time,” Rip replied. 

Leo’s jaw tightened but he smirked. “Yes, my family’s timeline is unraveling…largely because your actions are having a ripple effect.”

Rip studied the tense way the younger man held himself. The danger behind that friendly smiled reminded him very much of the boy’s uncle. “I am sorry. Tracking Vandal Savage has been more difficult than I anticipated. I underestimated how quickly things would change.”

“No, you didn’t. You didn’t care if my family’s personal history changed as long as you achieved your ultimate goal of stopping Vandal Savage and saving your family. I’m sure you figured there was no harm involved considering your hapless team wouldn’t know about the changes. They wouldn’t know that helping you had altered their personal timelines so drastically.”

“It wasn’t malicious...I assure you. In truth, I didn’t expect quite as many failures and setbacks as my team has experienced so far. I believed that my touch on their timelines would be miniscule at best. My intention was always to return everyone mere minutes from the moment I originally recruited them. However, when Gideon notified me of the alterations...I believed that killing Vandal Savage would set everything right. I told the team, specifically Sara Lance, as much. It appears that I was wrong,” he replied.

Leo wanted to punch Rip in the face. However, as satisfying as that would feel, the man could prove useful on a number of fronts. It would be short-sighted to dismiss him out of spite.

“I’d like to help you. If you will allow me to,” he implored. 

“Welcome aboard, Captain Hunter. We will need your help during the battle with Zoom.”

Rip’s forehead creased in concern. “All of you fighting alongside your family is a dangerous prospect. A metacrisis…”

“I know. You will help us avoid that but we can’t leave this situation with Zoom to chance. My mother, Heatwave, and the Green Arrow might fall in this new version of events. We’re doing our part to ensure the Flash and Captain Cold are united by the time the battle begins but it might not be enough. The timelines have already changed and they continue to do so enough that we can’t even be sure that fighting Zoom in the same way they did in the past will work. We will be there to assist if it becomes necessary. I know you might not like it, Captain, but understand helping is to your benefit as well. I can guarantee that you won’t want to see the man my uncle becomes if his sister and best friend die.”

Rip frowned but he knew it to be true. He had already seen the possible futures where Golden Glider and Heatwave died. He nodded. “Then I am at your service. Where is everyone else?”

Leo said, “My younger brother is asleep and everyone else is out shopping. You can head inside if you’d like. I just need to have a word with Dick.”

Rip understood the implicit dismissal and nodded as he walked inside. 

“Do you trust him?” asked Dick. 

“No, he’s a liar and he most certainly has his own agenda. However, I believe that his agenda and ours coincide for the moment,” Leo replied. 

He asked, “What will we do if that changes?”

Leo said, “I’ll turn him over to the Time Masters. Perhaps it would serve as a show of good faith of my part.”

Dick grimaced, “Remind me never to get on your bad side.”

Leo laughed quietly. “You’re safe. My aunt is very fond of you. She’d be very disappointed if I did something to harm you. You were her first love afterall.” 

“Don’t let Queen hear you say that.”

He smiled at the older man. “Mattie never let’s him forget it. He insists on calling William his Not-Uncle.”

Dick chuckled and shook his head. 


	16. Baby, You Can't Drive My Car!

**Central City--2016**

 

Barry walked into a 50’s themed diner and looked around the crowded room for his foster father. He didn’t need to look at his watch to know that he was several minutes late. He would probably have missed lunch with Joe altogether if Iris hadn’t been kind enough to remind him by text message. She was really keeping their entire family, including Wally, together these days. It was good having Iris living in the house again. He was able spend more time with his best friend now, despite their hectic work schedules.

Barry Allen, the CSI, might have had the day off from work. However, the Flash was busy helping the city prepare for the winter storm that was bearing down on them at an alarming rate. A few short days ago, the forecast called for only a few inches of snow. This morning the new projections suggested that Central City would get buried underneath between 25 and 30 inches of snow.  The city was nowhere near prepared for a winter storm that would cripple municipal services and possibly compromise its infrastructure.

Unfortunately, the incoming blizzard wasn’t the only thing that was distracting Barry. His morning started like a dream because when the speedster woke up he was enveloped in Len’s tattooed arms. That was arguably the best night’s rest that he had since the last time he slept with his nemesis. However, Len was pecking him on the lips and climbing out of the bed before he even had the opportunity to enjoy it. Although, watching the man climb down the side of the house was an amusing way to start the day.

Both men had overslept and Snart needed to get out of there before Joe woke up. Neither of them was willing to deal with the fallout from something like that just yet. They had too many things to figure out before Barry could even think of properly introducing Len to Joe. However, it was difficult to find time to be together. Len was gone weeks at a time on the _Wave Rider_ and when he was home Barry was busy with his own heroics.

The good news was that Rip Hunter and his team would be in Central City for the next couple of days. Barry fully intended to take advantage of Snart’s down time as much as possible. They had something planned for each night that Len was in town. He only hoped the the snowstorm wouldn’t rain...or rather snow on their parade. Len wasn’t the only one getting a little moody because of the lack of physical contact. Barry’s team was starting to notice when he went on long runs to burn off excess energy. He needed their upcoming date nights as much as Len did.

Fortunately, Barry had great friends willing to pitch in to give him a much needed break. Felicity managed to convince the Green Arrow and Black Canary to take over his patrols of the city for the next two nights. They were in town to see Sara and Ray anyway. Besides, Oliver always got a bit antsy if he was cooped up doing normal things for too long. Going out to accost bad guys with his bow and arrows would be just what the doctor ordered. However, Barry was certain that Laurel agreed because she was Team ColdFlash, their annoying and not at all flattering portmanteau.

“Over here, Barr!”

Barry looked up and grinned when he saw Joe beckoning him toward his booth. He had been surprised that morning over breakfast when Joe asked him to meet at The Hop for lunch. The detective usually just picked something from the sandwich woman’s cart so that he could work through his lunch hour.

A small voice in the back of Barry’s head wondered if Joe knew about Snart sleeping over. However, he quickly dismissed that on account of Len not having any extra holes when he left the house. He probably just wanted to check in to see how Barry was doing. Joe had become more attentive, if that was possible, since he found out about his son’s frequent nightmares.

The speedster slowed down as he approached the table because he realized that Joe wasn’t alone. During breakfast, he hadn’t mentioned that anyone would be joining them for lunch.

A man that was perhaps a few years older than Barry was sitting at the table drinking a cup of coffee. His dark brown hair made his emerald green eyes stand out even more. He was dressed in a nice suit that looked expensive given their kitschy surroundings.

Barry stopped beside Joe and said, “Uh, hey. Sorry that I’m late. I got caught up in a project and lost track of time.”

Joe stood up and clapped Barry on the back. “It’s okay, son. I’m used to you being late by now. Besides, I gave you the wrong time on purpose to ensure that you wouldn’t be too late.”

His cheeks flushed in embarrassment. Even with his speed, Barry was no good at time management. Moreover, this meeting had to be important to Joe if he went to the trouble of making sure that Barry wouldn’t miss it. He extended his hand to the other man and said, “Hi. Uh, I don’t think we’ve met before…”

Simon stood up and said, “No, we haven’t met before. I’m sure I would have remembered that. My name is Simon. Simon Zucker. It is nice to meet you. Detective West has told me a lot about you.”

“It’s nice to meet you, too. I hope he’s told you good things about me,” Barry replied. He still didn’t quite understand what this meeting was about.

Simon smiled. “Oh, yes. He has only sang your praises.”

Barry’s cheek flushed even more. “Joe does that sometimes.”

“It is deserving,” Joe objected.

“That’s what fathers do.” Simon pulled out a chair for Barry and said, “Please have a seat.”

“Thanks. How do the two of you know each other?” asked Barry. He sat down with a curious look on his face. He knew all of Joe’s friends and this guy certainly didn’t fit the bill. He was too young and too polished for that. Joe’s friends were mostly other cops or a few musicians from his younger days. He had to assume that this was a business meeting of some sort. The man’s expensive suit screamed lawyer.

Joe said, “I met Simon a few months ago. His sister was a witness in one of our cases. He’s a sports agent.”

“Oh! Are you the one that gave Joe those awesome tickets to see the Central City Miners last month?”

“Guilty as charged. Did you enjoy the game?”

Barry nodded excitedly. “Yes, it was amazing. I have now decided that courtside is the only way to watch a basketball game. You’ve ruined basketball for me.”

Simon chuckled. “Well, I always have tickets to the games. Maybe you could join me one night. You could meet some of the players before the game. I represent two of the guys on the team.”

Joe tried to hide how delighted he was. He asked, “Should we order lunch?”

Barry nodded and flagged down waitress. “Sure. I’m starving.”

Joe looked at his watch and said, “I actually have to make a call. I need to check in on a case. Order without me. Barry knows what I order every time we eat here.”

Barry said, “Uh, okay, Joe.”

Joe picked up his jacket and walked out of the diner.

A waitress dressed in a salmon pink 50’s era uniform approached the table. “Good afternoon. What can I get for the two of you?”

Barry didn’t bother looking at the menu. “Oh, we’ll have two of your blue plate specials. We'd like the burgers to be medium, please. Add bacon and grilled onions. Oh, and a strawberry milkshake.”

The waitress jotted down Barry’s order and then looked at Simon.

Simon said, “I’ve never eaten here before but I will lean on Barry’s expertise. Make that three blue-plate specials. I’ll take my burger well done.”

“Coming right up, sweetie.”

“So, we’ve talked about my completely unimpressive job. I understand that you are a CSI. How did you get into that?”

Barry chewed at his bottom lip. “That is a long and really depressing story. The short version is that I lost my mother to a violent crime when I was very young. It inspired me to fight the good fight when I grew up. I was a beanpole straight out of high school and I think Joe would have had a heart attack if I became a cop. Forensic science was more up my alley anyway. Now I don’t just help put away the guilty, I help absolve the innocent. Both elements of the justice system are equally important. What about you? How does someone become a sports agent? I must have missed that booth during career day.”

“It was sort of the family business. My mother is an entertainment lawyer. I thought I would do the same thing. I went to college and majored in criminal justice. Then I moved onto law school but fate had different plans. I was suing a tabloid on behalf of my client. He was a basketball player…after he saw the way I went after that gossip rag he decided that he wanted someone that aggressive representing him in all facets. I started picking up clients by reputation after that.”

Barry smiled. “Is it exciting? Being around all of those famous people. I would definitely get tongue-tied. I get that way around people that aren’t ridiculously famous and wealthy.”

Simon chuckled. “Some of the mystique wears off once you’ve seen them naked.”

Barry laughed with him because that had to be true. “Do you only represent basketball players?”

“That’s my specialty but I’ve recently started representing a baseball player as well. It’s all glitz and glamour until you have to familiarize yourself with volumes of Byzantine rules, regulations, and a mammoth collectively bargained agreement between the league and the players.”

“Okay, your job sounds a lot less fun now,” Barry teased.

Simon smirked at him. “The perks like free tickets, swag bags, and the occasional inappropriately expensive gift makes it worth it. Besides, I end up spending so much time with those guys that they’re my friends. I know it won’t always be like that if I continue to get new clients but it’s nice.”

The waitress returned with their meals and asked, “Can I get the two of you anything else?”

Simon looked at Barry and then shook his head. “No. Thank you.”

Barry took a huge bite out of his burger caught some of the melted cheddar cheese with his finger. He didn’t think twice about sucking the cheese off his finger because a masterpiece like this should be savored. “I wonder what’s taking Joe so long to come back.”

“I’m sure Detective West is just trying to be discreet while giving us a little time alone,” Simon replied. He had tried very hard not to stare at Barry when he sucked the melted cheese off his finger but he failed. He failed miserably. The younger man was absolutely guileless and that was refreshing.

“Why would he need to give us time alone?” asked Barry.

Simon reached over and placed a hand on Barry’s. He smiled genuinely. “I believe this is your dad’s attempt at setting us up on a blind date. He didn’t say as much but I got that distinct impression when he began talking you up. If you are interested, I’d love to do this again sometime without the chaperone.”

“Oh,” said Barry. He looked down at Simon’s hand and said, “Oh!”

Sara walked over to the table with a big grin on her face but it slowly turned to a scowl when she made sense of the scene in front of her.

Barry pulled his hand back from Simon and stumbled upwards. “Sara!”

“I’m really glad that Snart is waiting for me out in the car because this…” She motioned between the two men. “Doesn’t look good.”

“I can explain,” Barry argued.

“I’m not the one that you need to explain this to, Barry.”

A wry chuckle came from over Sara’s shoulder. Len stood there with an inscrutable look on his face. “He doesn’t need to explain it to me either. Let’s just go, Sara. We can get Lisa’s chili cheese fries from some other greasy spoon joint.”

Barry’s jaw dropped. “Len…”

Simon cleared his throat. “I take it this is the guy that Detective West mentioned you were seeing casually.”

Barry just stood there like a deer in the headlights. He was innocent but it looked bad. It looked really bad. However, he was more concerned about the look on Len’s face. The older man didn’t look angry or sad. He just looked resigned, as if he’d always expected this to happen.

Len turned around and walked away with a shake of his head.

Barry ran out of the restaurant. “Len! Wait! At least let me explain what was going on in there.”

“You don’t owe me anything, Barry,” Len growled. He took out his keys and got ready to climb into the car.

Barry used his speed and snatched the keys from his hand.

Len’s eyes widened and he asked, “Are you out of your mind doing that where people could see you? Do you want everyone to figure out that you are the Flash?”

“I don’t care, Len. I don’t care if people know that I’m the Flash. I don’t care if people know that I’m dating you. I just...I just want you to stop looking at me like that because it is killing me,” Barry pleaded.

“Look, kid, we both just got carried away because we spent time in the future. Rip called it time drift. He said it can happen to people that stay too long in a different time period,” he explained. Len knew he was bastardizing the actual concept but it might be good enough to get Barry to just walk away.

Barry shook his head. “Don’t do that. Don’t downplay this.”

“We don’t even know what this is, Barry. I’m just being realistic here.” He motioned back and forth. “This doesn’t work. The hero and the villain don’t get a happily ever after.”

Barry said, “But you know that isn’t the truth. You’ve seen our happy ending and I have always believed that there was good in you, Len. I’m not going to let you run away from me.”

“I’m not running,” he snapped.

“The hell you aren’t. You won’t even give me a chance to explain myself.”

“You’re saying that I didn’t interrupt your date?” asked Len. His jaw clenched painfully.

Barry said, “It’s not a date that I planned over even knew about. Joe asked me to meet him here for lunch. I didn’t know about Simon until I got here and I didn’t realize that I had been set up on a date until he told me literally a few seconds before Sara showed up. You have to believe me.”

Len ran a hand over his face. “Barry…”

“No,” Barry said.

“Barry, you need someone that you can go out on a date with in public. Or maybe someone that your old man doesn’t hate as much as he hates me.”

Barry grabbed the front of his jacket said, “I love Joe. He’s my dad but he doesn’t get to control the way I live my life. I need you. I want you.” He pulled the older man into a smoldering kiss that lasted for much longer than was appropriate on a public street in the middle of the afternoon.

Len stood there gobsmacked when the kiss finally ended.

Barry unlocked the car and climbed into the driver’s seat.

Len grabbed the door to keep it from closing. He asked, “What do you think you are doing?”

“I’m about to drive us to your place so that you can make good on that promise from last night.”

Len swallowed thickly. “Do you even know how to drive, Scarlet?”

“Sure. I mean...of course. Everyone knows how to drive.”

“Barrry,” he said in an amused voice.

“I’m sure it’s just like riding a bike. It’ll all come back to me,” Barry chirped with a smile.

“It is exactly nothing like riding a bike. Shove over. I’m driving.”

Barry poked out his perfectly pink lips and said, “But I want to drive.”

“Do you know how to drive stick?” asked Len with raised eyebrows.

Barry grinned. “Is that a euphemism?”

“No, this car has a manual transmission and I am not about to let you ruin my baby,” Len replied.

Barry huffed and got out of the car. “Fine.”

Len said, “I’ll make it up to you later. Besides, we can’t exactly leave Sara stranded and Lisa will kill me if I don’t bring back her order of chili cheese fries with extra cheese and jalapenos.”

“But then I get you all to myself, right? Because I’d like to make a couple of things up to you, too,” Barry replied.

Joe climbed out of his car walked over to the couple. This hadn’t been part of his plan. He only meant to show Barry that there were other, less murderous, fish in the sea. Joe knew with absolute certainty that his planned had blown up in his face.

Len’s fists clenched at his side.

Barry crossed his arms over his chest. He  said, “I can’t believe that you would set me up on a date without asking me first, Joe. I know that you don’t like Len but...this hurt me, too. I don’t want to talk to you right now.”

“I understand that, Barr. I’m sorry that I hurt you. It wasn’t supposed to be this way. I couldn’t have possibly known that Snart would show up here of all places. I overreacted after I realized that he spent the night in my house. But I’m not here to talk to you. I want to talk to Snart--alone.”

Barry’s eyes went as wide as saucers. He could imagine the two of them getting into some sort of Spaghetti Western duel right here in the middle of the street. He rubbed at the back of his neck awkwardly. “I really don’t think that is a good idea, Joe.”

Len said, “No. It’s fine, Barry. Could you go see what’s the hold up with Sara?”

“Uh…”

Len squeezed his hand. “It’ll be fine. Go.”

Barry sighed. “Please...don’t get arrested. Either of you.”

Joe waited until Barry was in the restaurant before looking at Snart again. “Barry isn’t going to listen to me and after what happened in the diner...I know I’ve only pushed him further into your arms. But I want you to understand this...if you hurt my son in anyway...they will never stop finding pieces of your body when I am done with you.”

“Are you threatening me, Detective West?” Len drawled.

Joe unclipped his badge from his belt and said, “When it comes to my kids...this is just a piece of tin to me. You don’t want to imagine the lines I’d cross if anything ever happened to any of them.”


	17. Ready, Set, Go!

**Central City--2016**

 

Somehow, Barry’s entire day had been turned upside down. He would have to talk to Joe at some point. He knew that his foster father’s actions came from a good place but they were hurtful and unacceptable. His heart ached whenever he thought about the resigned look Len’s face that afternoon. However, for right now he could push it all to the back of his head and just enjoy this moment. He smiled as he sat on the porch with Lisa and Iris. They were watching Len and Cisco help Laila build four snowmen—or a snow family as she insisted. It wasn’t the same as having a quiet night alone but it was perhaps better because it felt like a glimpse into Len and Barry’s future.

After leaving the diner that afternoon, they were just supposed to be dropping off Lisa’s chili cheese fries. In hindsight, both men should have realized that she wouldn’t miss the opportunity to grill the new couple. Lisa harangued Len into staying for the rest of the afternoon to keep her company while Cisco was at work. However, little did they know that she was scheming the entire time. Cisco wasn’t alone when he came home from work. Iris arrived at the same time that he did with grocery bags in tow. Lisa and Iris had decided that a family dinner was necessary after the near blow-up/break-up that afternoon.

Len looked around for Laila after putting the finishing touches on the baby snowman she pleaded with him to make. He shook his head with a small smile when he saw that she was leaning against the snowman that resembled him. Her eyes were closed and she had wrapped herself up in his discarded coat.

He scooped up Laila and carried her onto the porch. Len stopped next to Barry. “I’m going to put her to bed and then we can leave.”

Barry smiled. He liked seeing this side of Len. He nodded. “Okay. Take your time.”

Len looked over his shoulder. “Coming, Lise?”

Lisa laughed quietly as she followed them inside. “Did she seriously fall asleep in the snow?”

Len nodded with a smirk. “I asked her ten minutes ago if she was sleepy. She’s just like you. You could fall asleep anywhere when you were her age.”

The two of them trudged up the stairs to Laila’s bedroom.

Lisa walked into the room first and turned on the bedside lamp. She turned down Laila’s bed so that Len could put her down. “She’s been so happy having you here today, Lenny.”

He placed her on the bed gingerly and nodded. “I know. It was nice being here with both of you. Being away isn’t easy on me.”

Lisa pulled off Laila’s coat and while Len worked on her boots. “I know that, Lenny. I know that you would be here every day if you could. And you will be here once you take care of Vandal Savage.”

“Does she know that?” asked Len. It was something that had weighed on his mind heavily lately.

She eyed her older brother for a moment and said, “You’re over thinking it, Lenny. She’s a kid. Of course, she misses her big brother when he’s gone but she’s not drawing any broader conclusions from it. She doesn’t think that you’ve abandoned her. Pass me Laila’s Sheriff Callie nightgown. It’s her favorite. It should be in the second drawer.”

Len walked over to the dresser and searched for the right one. He tossed it to Lisa. “I don’t like putting all the responsibility on you.”

Lisa caught the nightgown easily and changed Laila into it without waking her up. “You’re not. I have Cisco to help me. He’s great with Laila and he loves having her here. She laughs at all of his lame jokes, even when she doesn’t understand them. Laila thinks that he is hilarious. Shawna helps out, too. Besides, she’s my little sister too, Lenny. Taking care of her isn’t some sort of hardship.”

“I just…I want to do right by her, Lise,” Len said. He turned on the nightlight by the door.

She tucked Laila in and turned off the lamp. Lisa walked over to him and said, “We’re not going to break her, Lenny. Laila has more love than either of us have experienced in the whole of our lives. She’s not scared of anything or anyone. She never wonders where her next meal is coming from. We are giving her as close to a normal life as we possibly can, considering that both of her parents are dead.”

Len hugged her. 

Lisa smiled at her big brother. “Besides, once you’re home full-time wild horses wouldn’t be able to stop her from staying with you, Lenny. She thinks you hung moon. She’s likes your new boyfriend, too.”

He rolled his eyes. “Don’t start, Lisa.”

“Oh, come on. He’s totally your boyfriend. We all had dinner together tonight.”

“A dinner you arranged behind our backs and then twisted our arms to make us stay here to enjoy,” Len argued.

Lisa grinned. “But you did enjoy it.”

Len playfully pulled her out of Laila’s room and shook his head. “Yes, I enjoyed it. You and Laila are the two people that mean the most to me in the world. If you two didn’t like him…it wouldn’t work.”

“Well, now you know that we both adore Barrrry. No excuses, big brother.”

He smiled wryly at Lisa as they walked downstairs. He kissed the top of her head. “I will see you tomorrow at the baby shower.”

“Have a goodnight with Barry,” she replied.

He smirked, “Oh, I intend to.”

Lisa’s eyes went wide. “Eww! Come on, Lenny. I mean I’m glad that you are going to scratch your itch, Mick said you’ve been a bitch lately, but I don’t need details. I never need those kinds of details.”

Iris and Barry were standing in the living room. She looked at the speedster and said, “I don’t need details either.”

Barry’s cheeks flushed in embarrassment. “I think that is our cue to leave.”

Len laughed. “I couldn’t agree more. We’ll walk you out, Iris.”

Iris waved at Lisa and Cisco. “Goodnight.”

Lisa said, “Night.”

Barry and Len followed Iris outside.

Len pulled on his coat as he walked to his car to give the two of them some privacy.

Iris unlocked the car and then hugged Barry. “Goodnight.”

He returned the hug. “Tell Joe…I don’t know. Tell him that I am okay. I’m mad but I don’t want him to worry about me.”

“I will. Don’t worry about him, Barr. Dad will come around. He always does.”

“I don’t know if he will this time,” Barry whispered.

Iris smiled up at him. “He will come around because he loves you, Barry. No matter how wrong he was this afternoon, you have to know it came from a place of love. He’s worried about you because he only knows the bad parts of Leonard. He hasn’t seen the man I saw tonight. You can give Dad the silent treatment for a few days because he deserves it but after that…try having a real conversation with him, Barr.”

He nodded and opened the car door for her. “I’m not as good at the whole silent treatment as you are but I’ll give it a shot.”

Iris hugged him one more time before slipping into the car.

Barry closed her door and then walked down the street to Len’s car. He climbed into the passenger side and put on his seatbelt. “I had fun tonight.”

“I did, too.”

“Iris really likes you. She thinks that you’re good for me,” Barry blurted out.

Len raised an eyebrow at that as he started driving. “Okay…”

He said, “Iris has always been my relationship litmus test. If she doesn’t like the person that I’m dating then they’re not right for me and the relationship usually doesn’t last too long.”

“I just thought that was because ah...”

“Because I was in love with her? No, that wasn’t the only reason. Iris has always been a better judge of character than I am. I see the best in people. I’m gullible. That’s how Thawne tricked me and how Jay manipulated me.”

Len’s jaw tightened and he shook his head. “There’s nothing wrong with seeing the best in people. Sometimes I wish that I didn’t always see the worst. But it’s ingrained in me like a survival instinct now.”

“What do you see when you look at me?” Barry asked curiously.

Len shook his head. “I’d rather not.”

“Come on. You’re good at reading people. I want to know what you see in me.”

“I think your worst trait is also perhaps your best. You are selfless and sometimes when I see you zipping around the city as the Flash I wonder if it won’t get you killed one day.”

Barry swallowed thickly. He couldn’t really disagree with Len. He’d had enough brushes with death to know it to be true. “The hero’s lot I suppose.”

Len smiled wryly. “Which is why I am not a hero. Sacrifice for the greater good has never been my thing.”

Barry reached over and squeezed Len’s knee. He said, “I don’t believe that for a second. You’re already a hero to your sisters. There’s nothing you wouldn’t sacrifice for the two of them. If you were truly as selfish as you claim…you’d only ever put your own well-being first. Heroes come in all shapes and sizes. There isn’t exactly a template to follow. Saving the future from Vandal Savage is heroic.”

Len hummed but didn’t agree or disagree. He frowned at the falling snow. “By tomorrow night it’s really going to start coming down.”

“I know. All essential personnel have to report to the CCPD tomorrow at 8:00 PM. They will be on duty until the storm passes. I had to lie to Captain Singh. I told him that I won’t be able to come into work tomorrow because I sprained my ankle. It would be too hard to get away unnoticed if the Flash is needed for anything.”

Len teased, “You rebel.”

Barry laughed quietly. “But that means that, unless there’s a catastrophe, I can spend time with you. If you want…”

“Oh, I want you, Scarlet.” He pushed the button for his garage opener as he pulled into the driveway. Len parked in the garage and then turned off the car.

He had fun at dinner with everyone but it was nice having Len all to himself at last. Barry hopped out of the car excitedly and followed him into the house.

Len turned on the lights. He frowned because for a moment he could have sworn that something was different. He said, “Make yourself at home, Barry. Do you want something to drink?”

Barry said, “Uh, I’ll take any sort of juice you might have on hand.”

“I picked up some cranberry juice today.”

Barry made a face at that. “No, thank you.”

“It has amazing health bene…fits,” he stopped on the way to the kitchen and stared at the empty frame that used to hold the portrait of the Flash and Captain Cold defeating Zoom. Len examined the frame closely and realized that  the picture had been cut from the frame with precision and expertise.

Barry’s eyebrows knitted together in concern. “Len?”

He whispered, “Someone was here. They might still be here.”

Barry tensed and readied himself for a fight. He really wished that he thought to bring his suit with him.

Suddenly the sound of a phone ringing came from the kitchen.

Barry whispered, “They’re in the kitchen.”

Len cocked his head to the side and whispered, “No. That’s a trick of mine. Leave a burner near one exit and call it as a diversion while I rush out of the other. You go to the kitchen and I’ll stay here.”

Barry nodded in understanding. In an over exaggerated stage whisper, he said, “Let’s check out the kitchen, Len. The thief might be in there.”

The older man raised an eyebrow at Barry’s terrible theatrics and moved to a good hiding spot to catch their intruder.

Barry walked into the kitchen heavily and stopped at the back door where sure enough a cell phone had been placed on the floor.

A slender figure dressed in a black catsuit and a matching mask dashed from the back of the house toward the front door. The person had a black plastic storage tube strapped to his or her back.

Len grabbed for the person but wasn’t fast enough.

Barry saw that and sped out the door after the thief. He grabbed the person easily and called out, “Len! I’ve got him!”

Snart walked out of the house with a frown on his face. He grabbed the mask and pulled it from the person’s face.

Barry blinked in surprise. “He’s just a kid.”

“Am not!” Mattie argued. “I’m 16!”

Len grunted. “Like he said…a kid. What the hell do you think you’re doing breaking into my place, kid?”

Mattie smashed his elbow into Barry’s nose. As soon as his grip loosened, he tried to run again.

However, Len caught him this time. He grabbed the boy’s arm and stared. He had a gold bracelet with a Krugerrand hanging off it. He’d recognize that Krugerrand anywhere. The gold bracelet was strung through a bullet hole. It was Lisa’s lucky charm.

“Seriously?” Barry complained. 

Len asked “Are you okay, Barry?”

Barry waved him off with a groan.

Len asked, “Who are you?”

“I’m nobody!” Mattie insisted.

Barry wiped away the blood from his nose. He looked at Leonard with concern. “Len?”

Len asked, “Who are you?!”

Mattie’s jaw tightened and his eyes grew defiant. “Call the cops. What are you going to do?  Are you going to tell them that I stole a stolen painting? I’d love to see how that would go over.”

Len smirked at the kid. “How do you know that a painting that hasn’t been painted yet is stolen?”

Barry finally understood what Len was getting at. “Leo?”

Mattie snorted. “Hardly. Leo wishes that he had my bone structure.”

Len thought back to his conversation with Leo in 2024. Little Leo had mentioned a baby brother. He struggled to remember the brother’s name. He blinked and asked, “Mateo?”

“No one calls me Mateo.”

Len swallowed thickly. He still didn’t let the kid’s arm go because if he was right, this was his nephew. He was a Snart and would run the moment he got the chance. “What do they call you?’

“Everyone calls me Mattie,” he replied.

Barry’s jaw dropped. “What are you doing in 2016?”

Mattie chirped, “I can’t answer that.”

Len asked, “How did you get here?”

“I really shouldn’t answer that either,” Mattie sing-songed.

Barry asked, “Is my older counterpart with you?”

“That is another version of how I got here and I still can’t answer that question. You two knowing that I am here could be seriously screwing up the timeline,” Mattie replied.

Barry frowned. “Language…”

Mattie laughed. “Good old Uncle Barry. You catch me in the middle of a B&E and you’re concerned about my cursing.”

Barry raised an eyebrow. “This has happened before?”

He shrugged and replied, “Not since I was like 13…”

“You were pulling B & E’s at 13?” asked Len.

Barry scowled. “Stop sounding impressed!”

Len chuckled. “Well, I am a little impressed. But you got caught tonight.”

Mattie glared at him. “I wouldn’t have if Uncle Barry wasn’t here. Even at this age you’re too slow to catch me, old man.”

Len glared. “Old man?”

Barry looked at Len. “How’d you recognize him with the mask on?’

He shook his head. “I didn’t. I recognized the Krugerrand. It belongs to Lisa…at least it does right now. She never pulls a job without it. It’s her lucky charm. Are you really okay, Barry?”

Mattie said, “Sorry about the nose, Uncle Barry.”

Barry groaned. “It’s fine. It’ll heal soon enough.”

“Well, this was great but I’ve gotta go,” Mattie said.

Len shook his head. ‘You wouldn’t be in this time unless something was wrong. What’s going on kid?”

He said, “Leo is gonna kill me. I can’t tell you. It’s all complicated and timey-wimey. Dire circumstances and whatnot. I just came here to rob you because I thought it would be cool. And it was…”

Len started laughing. “Got a way to get in contact with your brother, kid?”

“Oh man. Seriously, Leo is going to kill me if he knows I ran into you.”

Len leveled a stern look at Mattie.

“Well, it seems you have the You’re-In-Trouble-Glare down already. Cool. Cool. Fine. I’ll call him but he isn’t going to be happy with me.”

Mattie reached into his pocket with his free hand and pulled out one of the phones Leo bought everyone earlier. The elder Ramon brother was a stickler about bringing future technology into the past. He hit the first number on the speed dial and waited for Leo to answer.

Len said, ‘Speaker phone…”

Mattie put the phone on speakerphone when someone picked up the other line.

Leo growled, “Where are you, Mateo? I told you not to leave but you must have heard me say to take the jump ship and leave while no one was looking. Mom will kill me if something happens to you. You better not be where I think you are.”

Len said, “Depends on if you think he’s with me.”

The line went silent for a moment. In a tentative voice, he asked, “Uncle Lenny?”

“You got it on the first try,” Len quipped.

“I’m here, too.” Barry added.

“Uncle Barry? Mattie! You had one job,” Leo exclaimed.

Mattie pouted. “Well, it’s not like I knew Uncle Barry was going to be here. I thought that was the whole reason we were here anyway. Uh oh…”

Len asked, “What does that mean?”

Leo said, “It means that I am on my way. I’ll explain as much as I can but you both know how timelines work. Foreknowledge is dangerous for a number of reasons. Just don’t tell anyone that Mattie and I are here. We don’t know how much damage he’s already done.”

Mattie’s face dropped. “I’m sorry, Leo. I didn’t mean for this to happen. It was just meant to be a little fun.”

“I know, Mattie. It’s okay,” Leo promised. “I’ll be there as soon as I can. Where are you specifically?”

Len said, “He’s at my actual home. Do you need the address?”

“The one on Red Hill Road?” Leo asked.

“That’s the one,” Len replied.

“I’ll be there…”

Mattie ended the call and sighed. He looked very much like a little boy now.

Len squeezed his shoulder. He said, “Everything is going to be okay.”

Barry nodded in agreement. “We should get inside before someone calls the police.”

Len ushered them both into the house.


	18. Botched

**Central City--2016**

 

Leo knew that this entire debacle was entirely his fault. Mattie had been a wild child his entire life. If someone said the sky was blue, he would go out of his way to prove that it was in fact purple. Telling him not to steal from their uncle was a fool’s errand. Honestly, Leo couldn’t blame Mattie for acting his age. He was headstrong and reckless as a teenager, too. If there had been another option, he would have taken it and left his brother well away from danger and temptation. However, he needed Mattie’s help in defeating Zoom. He also needed his baby brother in close proximity in case the worst happened.

It took longer than he would have liked to reach Leonard’s house. He had to take the  _ Cyclone _ into the city because Mattie stole the jumpship. Once Leo arrived in Central City, he had to find some place out of the way to stash the timeship. He could cloak the vessel to make it blend into the current environment. However, cloaking couldn’t stop a person from bumping into the  _ Cyclone _ if he left it in a densely populated area.

He chose the local high school’s football stadium as a perfect parking spot. The stadium wasn’t far from his uncle’s house and there was very little chance of someone wandering onto the snow covered football field at this time of night. He could really do without more problems cropping up for him. It seemed as if as soon as Leo put out one fire, another appeared. The work on the cabin was very nearly finished and the blizzard was barreling toward woefully unprepared Central City right on schedule. However, now Mattie had just created a different sort of storm.

Leo decided to walk the five blocks to his  uncle’s house. Hot wiring a car sounded very appealing at the time. However, it didn’t seem prudent to commit a felony on the way to pick up his younger brother who was just caught committing a felony. Leo needed to retain a little moral high ground so that he didn’t come off as a complete hypocrite to Mattie. He decided to use his walk wisely by coming up with a plan. He didn’t currently have a plan. It was really just getting Mattie away from their uncles before he told them too much.

Unfortunately, he was no closer to a good plan by the time he reached Len’s house. Leo would just have to improvise but that was sort of his specialty. He jogged up to the front door and knocked.

Len opened the door and asked, “Leo?”

He was taken aback from seeing adult Leo. It was only a few weeks ago when he had met eight-year-old Leo. And only a few hours ago that he had felt baby Leo kick against the palm of his hand.

He nodded and ran a frustrated hand through his hair. “Hey, Uncle Lenny.”

“Come in. Mattie is in the kitchen eating ice cream,” Len explained.

Leo stomped on the porch to shake the snow off his boots before walking into the house. “I’m sorry about all of this.”

“It’s fine,” Len replied. If there was trouble then he wanted to help. These were his nephews and there wasn’t anything that he wouldn’t do for them. When Len looked at both boys all he saw was Lisa.

Barry was sitting on the couch with a cup of coffee. He smiled warmly when he saw Leo. “Hi.”

“Hi, Uncle Barry.”

Mattie rushed into the living room and hugged his older brother. “I’m sorry, Leo. Did I mess up everything?”

Leo hugged him tight and rubbed his back. “No. I’m going to fix everything. I need to talk to Uncle Lenny and Uncle Barry for a few minutes. Go finish eating your ice cream, Mattie.”

“But…”

“Go,” Leo commanded softly. His tone brooked no argument. Leo didn’t often pull rank as the older brother but when he did--he meant it.

Mattie bit his bottom lip and then went back into the kitchen. He decided then that Leo never looked more like their father than when he was disappointed in him. Cisco often had the same long-suffering expression on his face when dealing with Mattie. Lisa was perhaps the only person in their family that remained unbothered by his antics. She actively supported all of his creative outlets--even the felonious ones.

Len had a seat on the couch with Barry. He suddenly felt much older than his forty-three years. “What’s going on, Leo? It has to be something major if the two of you are skulking around in 2016.”

Leo sighed and said, “I’ll tell you truth on one condition.”

Len asked, “What’s the condition?”

He removed a pill bottle from his pocket and placed it on the coffee table. “The bottle contains two doses of an amnesia pill. Both of you have to promise to take one of these in the morning. It will erase the last 12 hours of your short-term memory. You can’t remember that Mattie and I were ever here.”

Barry looked at Len. “What do you think? Is it safe?”

“Rip has mentioned them before. They’re a creation of the Time Masters. It’s safe but shouldn’t be used frequently. I think we should do it,” Len replied.

“Okay. I agree to take the amnesia pill.” Barry looked at his watch and said, “We should take it tomorrow morning at 9 o’clock. The last thing we will remember is leaving Lisa and Cisco’s house. If we take the pills any earlier we won’t remember dinner last night. People could get suspicious if anyone was to ask us anything about it.”

Len nodded in agreement. “You’re right, Barry. We’ll take the pills in the morning. Now spill, kid.”

Leo closed his eyes for a moment as he thought about his parents. He wished that he could see them right now but it was too great a risk. He couldn’t know the damage he was causing right now just by interacting with his uncles.

Leo sat down in the chair across from the couch. His face was pinched with an expression somewhere between exhaustion and hopelessness. He scrubbed a hand over his five o’clock shadow as he tried to determine where to begin. Telling his uncles the truth was dangerous even if with the amnesia pill to wipe away their memories. They were both time travelers, which meant afterimages were always a possibility. However, he also knew that both men were too stubborn to allow him to leave without a satisfactory explanation. They were obviously worried about him and Mattie, despite not knowing them just yet.

“Time-traveling is dangerous. It is even more dangerous when you are crossing into and out of your own timeline. Everything you do, or in certain cases don’t do, results in ripples through time. Sometimes those ripples are small like tossing a pebble into a lake. Other times, it is like throwing a boulder. You never really know what the consequences are going to be until it’s too late. The two of you traveling through time has been sending ripples through not only your timelines but to the people closest to you. I am here now because things have gone very off course and if someone doesn’t intervene there will be dire consequences.”

Leonard’s jaw clenched as he listened to the careful way his nephew spoke. He knew that controlled tone of voice well. Leonard often used it when he was genuinely afraid of something but refused to show it. His father always told him that fear was the crutch of the weak. Something deep inside his gut twisted at the realization that he and Lisa had somehow passed that on to Leo. It was good for survival but a hard way to live one’s life. He asked, “Who dies? That’s the only reason I can imagine you bringing Mattie to the past. He’s a loose cannon. You wouldn’t risk his presence unless there wasn’t another option.”

Leo smiled tiredly. This version of his uncle Lenny was twenty-one years younger but he could still read Leo like a book. “If things remain on this track…Mom, Uncle Mick, and Oliver Queen will be killed while fighting Zoom. You will all fail to defeat him and that monster will prove to be a scourge to this Earth and Earth-2. Thousands will die at his hands. Thousands more will never be born.”

Barry understood immediately the implications of what he was saying. His gaze shifted to the kitchen where Mattie was ordered to stay.

Len felt his heart stop when he heard that his sister and Mick would die fighting Zoom. He would never ask them to join him but he knew that they would never allow him to fight on his own.

Barry shook his head. “But…Oliver wouldn’t have a reason to be here. He would be in Starling City….safe.”

Leo smiled sadly. “He would never leave you to face your biggest foe on your own, Uncle Barry. He’s there on that day.”

The speedster knew it to be true. Oliver was there when he needed help with the Reverse Flash. He was there to stop Barry from doing something terrible when Roy Bivolo’s powers affected him. Oliver would always be there to help Barry if it was in his power.

Leo took their silence as his cue to continue speaking. He said, “I assembled a team to come here to help fight Zoom. However, that is only a contingency in case my current mission fails. Gideon instructed me to come back to 2016 to ensure that the two of you fall in love the way that you always have. Your relationship is happening out of order. I don’t know the details because Gideon has been vague to preserve the timeline but also to not squick me out about you two doing the fandango.”

Barry’s flushed bright red and asked, “What does that have to do with anything?!”

Len shifted in discomfort. His mind automatically went back to Barry kissing him in the comic book store in the year 2024.

“The point is that your bond isn’t as strong as it should be because your relationship is happening out of order. Now Sofia and I have a theory that she and I always come back to ensure that the two of you fall in love with each other before Zoom arrives to kill Uncle Barry. There’s a story you two told me as a child about how you fell in love. You were fighting Mark Mardon and some other metahumans during the blizzard and you lost sight of one another. Uncle Lenny, you heard something zing in the air and then everything went dark. When you both woke up, you were at a hunting cabin in the middle of nowhere. A metahuman that looked like Firestorm was flying away from the cabin. Uncle Barry, your speed was gone and neither of you had a phone on you at the time. The two of you ended up stranded there for three days while Uncle Barry’s powers recharged. By then the blizzard was over and the two of you were in love. You trusted each other completely. That trust meant that when Zoom arrived a month later you were ready for him and his cronies. I’d heard that story my whole life and it never occurred to me that Sofia and I were the metahuman that you saw that night.”

Barry asked, “You’re a metahuman?”

Len asked, “Who is Sofia?”

Mattie stood in the doorway shoveling strawberry ice cream down his gullet. The kid had an insatiable appetite to be so incredibly lithe. He said, “Sofia is his fiancé. She’s Uncle Ollie’s daughter.”

Len raised an eyebrow. “Uncle Ollie?”

Leo hissed, “Mateo…”

“What? They’re going to take the amnesia pill. They aren’t going to remember any of this anyway, right? Are you going to tell them about Donnie and Dawn?”

Barry asked, “Who are they?”

Len asked, “Do you two have a younger brother and sister?”

Mattie laughed and shook his head. “Not a chance. My parents realized that they had achieved perfection when I was born. There was no need to try again. Donnie and Dawn are your kids.”

Barry and Len’s jaws dropped simultaneously.

Leo got up and marched over to his brother. “I want you to go into the kitchen and stay there until I call for you. If you don’t I will make it my mission to best you on every heist for the foreseeable future.”

He looked horrified. “You wouldn’t do that! You couldn’t.”

“I’m a better thief than you are and since I’ll likely lose my position as a Time Master…I will have a lot of free time on my hands, hermanito.”

“I’ll tell Mom,” Mattie threatened.

Leo chuckled softly and ruffled his hair. “And Mom will tell you to be a better thief or find a new hobby. Now go into the kitchen.”

Mattie stomped petulantly into the kitchen.

Leo spun around with a tired smile. “Is there any way that the two of you can disregard Mattie’s outburst?”

Len nodded. “I only have one more question.”

Barry had to place his coffee cup on the end table because his hands were shaking.

“Shoot…”

Len’s jaw clenched as he started at the drawn expression on his nephew’s face. He didn’t  like him carry such a heavy burden. He asked, “How long until the fight with Zoom?”

Leo said, “It’s about a month away. He’ll find a way to reopen a breach and he won’t come through it alone. It will catch everyone off guard. Zoom comes for Uncle Barry in the middle of the night. Team Green Arrow and Rip Hunter’s team will already be here in Central City for my parents’ wedding.”

Len did the math in his head. “You won’t have been born yet.”

Leo smirked in a way that was completely Lisa. He chuckled, “I was born early. That much hasn’t changed. I’ll be born shortly after the blizzard. But as you can see I turn out great.”

Len snorted. “Cocky.”

“It’s not cocky if I’m telling the truth.”

“True,” the older man acknowledged.

Leo said, “If don’t have any more questions, then it’s time for me and Mattie to get out of here. There’s still work to be done before the blizzard moves in and being this close to our relatives in the past is probably a bad idea for the timeline.”

Len looked to Barry as if to ask if he wanted to ask anything else.

Barry stood up and said, “I just wish that there was some way that we could help you.”

Leo smiled. “You will be helping me by taking that pill in the morning and letting me do my job. I know that my boyish looks make me appear young but I’m twenty-one years old. I’m also a Time Master. More importantly, I spent the entirety of my childhood learning from the two of you and my parents. If you can’t trust me, then trust the four of you to have taught me well.”

Len stood up and offered the younger man his hand. “I do trust you, Leo. I know that you’ll set it all right.”

Leo shook his hand with a smile. “Thank you.” He looked toward the kitchen. “Mattie, you can come out now.”

Mattie walked out of the kitchen. The sulky expression on his face said that he wasn’t over Leo’s earlier threat.

“Come on, little brother. We need to get back to the cabin. We’re going to have a long talk about timelines.”

He rolled his eyes and waved at his uncles. “It’s been fun.”

Barry chuckled. “Stay out of trouble…in this year and in the future.”

Leo laughed. “That would be like asking the sun not to shine.”

Len and Barry walked the boys to the front door. They stood there for several long minutes as they watched Leo and Mattie disappear down the block.

Barry turned to look at Len. “We aren’t really going to let them fight our battles, are we?”

Len turned and flashed a lopsided. He drawled, “Are you suggesting that we break the promise we just made to our nephew, Scarlet?”

He frowned. “You saw what Zoom did to me. I’d never forgive myself if he did that or worse to one of them.”

Len’s expression grew more serious. “I have something else in mind. I overheard Rip arguing with Gideon before he suddenly announced that we were coming back to Central City for shore leave. He made up some nonsense about us getting stir crazy on the ship. I thought it was odd at the time but now…”

“You think that he knew that our timeline was unraveling and he didn’t say anything to you about it,” Barry replied.

“Gideon’s first objective is always to serve your best interest. You created her. Rip has his own agenda and has from the moment he recruited me and Mick.”

Barry’s frown deepened. “I think it’s time that we have a word with the good captain.”

Len grinned seeing the fire in Barry’s eyes. “I believe that you’re right. I should get my cold gun first.”

The speedster gave him a dubious look. “We’re just going to talk to him.”

Len kissed Barry firmly on the lips. “I’ll be on my best behavior. Scout’s honor.”

Barry watched him retreat into the house. “Wait! Were you really in the Boy Scouts? Are there pictures of this somewhere? Len?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leo S. Ramon/Firestorm (Lisa and Cisco’s son)  
> Sofia Dearden Queen/Firestorm (Oliver and Felicity’s daughter)  
> Mateo ‘Mattie’ Ramon (Lisa and Cisco’s son)  
> William Clayton Queen/ Red Arrow (Oliver and Samantha’s son)  
> Laila Cressida Snart/ Conductress (Leonard and Lisa’s sister)  
> Richard ‘Dick’ Grayson/ Nightwing (Bruce Wayne’s adopted son)


	19. A Meeting of The Minds

**Central City--2016**

 

Leo was the only boy that Sofia had ever successfully dated. They had broken up a dozen times over the years but everyone around them always knew that it was only temporary—even if they didn’t know it at the time. Plenty of guys showed interest but Sofia always found some flaw in them. Her mother, Felicity, pointed out that the flaw was that they weren’t Leo S. Ramon. She was always measuring potential suitors against her childhood best friend and they always fell well short of the mark. However, it would be an understatement to say that Leo had an unfair advantage. Being Firestorm meant that they were always attuned to each other’s emotions. They could never truly hide anything from each other because of the connection.

That connection was forcing Sofia to abandon the warm hunting cabin for the chilly outdoors. A biting wind whipped around the young woman as soon as she stepped outside. The snow was falling steadily in Central City now. By tomorrow afternoon, the streets would be impassable. She pulled up her hood as she closed the door behind her and stalked into the night to find her other half. She had felt him brooding in the back of her head for the last hour. Sofia tried to give him space to rein in his emotions. However, she could tell when Leo was beginning to spiral because the rage he always tried to hide from her rose to the surface of their connection.

Sofia looked around the snow-covered terrain for any sign of where Leo went. Unfortunately, the freshly fallen snow had covered up any trace of him long ago. It was obvious that she would just have to go about finding her fiancé the hard way. Sofia huffed as she pulled a pair of leather gloves out of her pocket and put them onto her freezing hands. Then she cracked her neck and rolled her shoulders to loosen up. Her eyes fluttered closed as she took in a deep cleansing breath and shut out everything else. Leo and Sofia’s connection was strong. When they were teenagers, Professor Stein theorized it was because the pair became Firestorm before their brains were fully developed. The Firestorm Matrix changed the very structure of their brains.

She stood there for a solid minute before she could sense Leo’s physical presence at the very edge of her consciousness. He could sense her too and he was actively trying to hide from her now. It brought back memories of their training. There were moments where they could be forcibly separated while they were merged as Firestorm. They trained for years to ensure that they could always find one another if it happened. Sofia grinned and then took off into the woods light of foot. She could sense Leo dodging her as she drew closer to his position. The rage she had felt just minutes ago had dulled considerably and was replaced with something else. Mischievousness.

She chased Leo’s movements for fifteen minutes. Sofia knew that he needed to run off whatever funk had settled over him. He had been tight-lipped since bringing Mattie back from Central City. However, once those fifteen minutes was over she decided it was time to quit toying with him. Instead, of trying to sense where Leo had been…she began strategizing to figure out where he was going. She picked a spot near a stream that ran through the forest and then scaled a tree nearby. Sofia brushed off a bit of snow and had a seat on a tree branch while she wanted for Leo.

Leo smiled as he approached the area where he could sense Sofia the strongest. His eyes scanned the area until he spotted her footprints in the snow. Leo looked up with a grin. He called out, “Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair.”

Sofia laughed and jumped out of the tree and into Leo’s waiting arms. “You caught me.”

Leo set Sofia on her feet and kissed her softly. “I always will.”

She smiled. “My knight in shining armor.”

He chuckled quietly. “It’s more like the knight that frequently just happens to be in the right place at the right time.”

“It’s a little more than that.”

“Maybe…”

She asked, “Are you going to tell me what’s got you in such a terrible mood? It’s not just because Mattie disobeyed you. If that were a cause for you to be this undone, you’d never be able to leave the house.”

“His unpredictable nature is going to be the end of him one of these days. I know that he’s still young and I can’t expect him to behave like an adult. But at a time like this I need him to trust me and to follow my lead.”

She caressed his cheek. “You’re scared for him. Why don’t you tell me why you really brought Mattie with us to 2016?”

Leo opened his mouth to speak but stopped when she pressed a finger to his lips.

“Don’t lie to me, Leo Snart Ramon. I’ve known that you had ulterior motives from the moment you told me we needed Mattie’s help. His help would be useful but his unpredictable nature nearly outweighs any benefit.”

He closed his eyes and just held Sofia in his arms. “I believe that we will defeat Zoom. However, walking into a fight without a backup plan is lunacy. If we were to fail…I would open a breach to Earth-3 and pull you and Mattie through before you began to fade. Our families don’t exist there yet or perhaps they existed sometime in the past. The point is we aren’t on that Earth. I’ve talked it over with Gideon and there’s a 75% chance that you both will survive being erased from this timeline if we make the jump quickly. I need to trust that Mattie will be exactly where I have left him or I won’t be able to get all three of us through the breach on time.”

Sofia didn’t know what to say at first. She slowly shook her head. “You are so incredibly stubborn. You came back for me that day at S.T.A.R. Labs and now this…”

He smoothed his thumb over her cheek. “You and me, we’re fate or destiny. How many spectacular events had to line up in just the right position to bring us together? I won’t give up on us as long as there is breath in my body. And us much as Mattie drives me crazy, I would never recover from losing him. It’s all a house of cards and I feel a strong wind coming.”

She shook her head. “You’re carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders. You could have brought this to me. I would have helped you figure it all out.”

“You’re worried about losing your father. I didn’t want to add onto that. I also didn’t want to you think that I had given up on saving our parents because I haven’t,” he replied.

“I would never think that, Leo. Quitting just isn’t in your blood. I love my father but I know that if he were given the choice, he would want me to live. Going into a fight without a backup plan is reckless and naive. You have never been either of those things. However, I think that I have a solution to your plan.”

Leo smiled and asked, “Really?”

“Don’t sound so surprised. I am the brains of this operation after all. I think that we should open a breach to Earth-3 before the fight with Zoom and send Mattie ahead of us. If we triumph then we can retrieve him but if we fail…then we only have to be concerned about getting me through the portal and we’ll be merged as Firestorm.”

His eyebrows furrowed as he considered Sofia’s idea. “My future wife is a genius.”

She smiled. “Yes, I am.”

“It also resolves another problem that I was having. I intended to get Dawn and Donnie to open a breach in 2037. But I was worried about getting to them once we were all on Earth-3. We would be in 2016 and they would be in 2037. I told them to look for our older counterparts in 2037 but it’s hardly a foolproof plan. This is one.”

Sofia said, “See, things are so much better when you just talk to me.”

Leo chuckled but he quickly trailed off when his watch started beeping. He pressed a button and asked, “What’s going on, Gideon?”

“A breach opened just outside of S.T.A.R. Labs. I cannot not confirm the presence of Zoom but…”

Leo said, “It’s not likely to be anyone else. Okay. Alert the rest of the team and tell them that we’ll be bringing the  _ Cyclone _ to them in a few minutes.”

“Right away, Captain Ramon,” Gideon replied.

Sofia said, “Let’s go, fly boy.”

They activated the tachyon bracelets on their wrists and merged into Firestorm.

**“What are we going to do about Mattie and the twins if this is the attack from Zoom?” Sofia asked.**

Leo blasted off into the night sky. He said, “When we get to S.T.A.R. Labs, I’ll tell Gideon to take Mattie back to 2037. She can pilot the  _ Cyclone _ without his help. They’ll pick up the twins and fly back to 2016 to open the breach to Earth-3. No matter what happens, I’ll know that they are safe.”

They reached the  _ Cyclone _ in a matter of minutes and the engines were already running. They didn’t bother separating as they walked onto the time ship. They knew from experience that the  _ Cyclone _ could handle the intensity of their powers for short periods of time without overheating as long as they weren’t actively using them.

Leo said, “Gideon, take us up and over to the hunting cabin.”

“Certainly. The others are waiting for us, Captain,” Gideon replied.

The  _ Cyclone _ slowly rose from the ground and then took off in the blink of an eye. The time ship soared over the treetops before coming to an abrupt halt in front of the hunting cabin. Gideon slowly lowered the vessel to the ground in the limited space available. Leo certainly wouldn’t have been able to pull off such a dicey maneuver on short notice.

Dick, William, Laila, and Mattie were waiting outside with their gear. They didn’t waste any time boarding the  _ Cyclone _ as soon as the door lowered open.

William asked, “What are the chances that this is Zoom attacking early?”

Mattie rushed to a seat and strapped himself in it. He said, “I’m not having any vibes of anyone coming through the breach. Maybe this is a false alarm.”

Laila took a seat beside her nephew and followed suit. She gently pointed out. “You also didn’t have a vibe about Lenny and Barry coming home together tonight. Your powers might be on the fritz.”

Dick and William quickly took their seats as the  _ Cyclone _ took off toward S.T.A.R. Labs.

He huffed and folded his arms over his chest petulantly. “I did have a vibe but I didn’t realize it was for this timeline! I thought we were here to make them fall in love. How was I supposed to know that they were already dating? No one told me that. It might have been a good thing for me to know!”

Leo smirked and said, “You weren’t supposed to be close to our uncles at any point during all of this. I didn’t think it was pertinent, hermanito. Or that you would want to know because of reasons…”

Mattie rolled his eyes. “I know more about all of you than I want to know. It’s the curse of my powers.”

Laila raised an eyebrow at that. “What do you mean by that?”

He shrugged. “Hey. I don’t always control what I see. I get flashes if something triggers me or sometimes I get them in my dreams. The vibe has a mind of its own—trust me. I just learned to stop saying anything about it when I was younger. There were fewer awkward conversations and a strange looks that way.”

Leo shook his head. “That is a very important conversation for much later. Right now, we have more important things on the horizon. We’re flying stealth. If Zoom is at S.T.A.R. Labs he won’t see us coming. Rushing in half-cocked is something that could get us killed by Zoom or our dangerous but well-meaning relatives from the past. William you spent more than your fair share of time at the old S.T.A.R. Labs and the new one. Do you remember how to get into the lower entrance of the old building?”

William nodded. “I remember and I’m on it.”

“Aunt Laila, I need you to take the side entrance. It’s likely locked but you can use your powers to bypass that,” Leo declared.

“I can do it with ease,” she replied easily.

He continued, “Dick, you’re the least familiar with S.T.A.R. Labs. I want you to take the main entrance and follow the path that leads into the cortex. If Zoom is there, it is where he would strike first.”

Dick nodded. He’d only been to the old S.T.A.R. Labs once before Leo and Sofia destroyed it while becoming Firestorm. Putting him on the easiest entrance was the smart move.

Leo said, “Sofia and I are going to fly over the building to get an aerial view before going in through access point on the roof.”

Mattie asked, “What about me?”

“You have the biggest job of all. Gideon is going to fly you back to 2037. Don and Dawn will be waiting for you. Gideon will fly all three of you back to this year. She’ll point you toward the breach that leads to Earth-3. You’ll open the breach and go through with the twins. It should drop you right into National City. When you get there find Super Girl and tell her who you are.”

“What? No, you aren’t sending me away from the fight! Is this because I messed up earlier? I promise I’ll do better Leo.”

Leo hated hearing his brother so upset. He said, “It has nothing to do with that. I need you to protect the twins. They’re too young to go to Earth-3 on their own. You’re in charge of watching over them. I can’t focus on fighting Zoom if I’m not certain that the three of you are safe.”

He shook his head. “No! You’re scared that Zoom is going to kill Mom and that I will be erased. I should be there. I should be there to protect her and you. You haven’t been born yet, Leo. Zoom could erase you, too.”

Laila took a deep breath. She hadn’t been party to Leo’s plan but she agreed with it. She smiled at Mattie. “We’re depending on you, Mattie. The twins are going to be scared. They’re going to need you. Please...”

Mattie nodded slowly. “Okay but you better kick Zoom’s ass and come to get us.”

Leo smiled. “We will. I promise.”


	20. Farewell

Leo knew that he didn’t have much time but he had to take a moment to do this. He rested his forehead onto Mattie’s and grasped the younger boy’s shoulder. He said, “I love you, Mateo. And I am so proud of the person you are growing into. I know that I give you a hard time but it is just because I see how truly great you could be. You got the very best of all of us, baby brother. You’re right that I am sending you away to protect you. But I am also sending you to protect the twins because I know that you can do it. I know that no matter how much you try to deny it, there is a hero inside of you. But mostly importantly I know that Snarts always take care of their own. I know that Don and Dawn are going to be fine no matter what happens here tonight because they will have you watching over them.”

Mattie blinked back tears and said, “Stop it. Stop talking like I’ll never see you again, Leo. You promised that you were going to kick Zoom’s ass and then come back for me. You’ve never broken a single promise to me in my whole life. You can’t start now. So you keep your word! You keep your word!”

Leo pulled his brother into a tight hug. “You’re not a little kid anymore, Mateo. You know that sometimes things just don’t work out no matter how hard we try. And sometimes being a hero means making the ultimate sacrifice. I knew that when Sofia and I took on the mantle of being Firestorm. And I doubled down on it when I joined the Time Masters. I always knew that I might die saving others and I gladly accepted that. But in my heart I’m selfish because while I would gladly sacrifice myself...I would never put you in harms way, hermanito. Because despite being a hero I would rip Earth-2 apart with my bare hands if Zoom took you from me. You’ve been my responsibility from the moment Dad and Mom brought you home from the hospital. I will never be done protecting you. I have to go, Mattie. But you go to Earth-3 and you find Kara Danvers...you find Supergirl and you protect the twins. Promise me.”

Mattie sniffled and took a deep breath as he pulled away from his brother. He hastily wiped away his tears and squared his shoulders proudly. “I promise. Don and Dawn will be safe with me, Leo. I’ll protect them the way that you have always protected me. I won’t let anything happen to them.”

Leo smiled and pointed at the captain’s chair. “Sit down buckle up and let Gideon do the flying. She’ll get you where you need to be. I love you, Mateo.”

Mattie sat down in the captain’s chair and fastened the safety harness. He said, “I love you, too. I know that they don’t know me yet but...tell Mom and Dad that I love you them, too.”

He smiled. “I will. There is a breach catalyst stashed in Uncle Lenny’s office. Use it to open the breach. I left it out on the desk for you.”

Mattie watched as his brother walked out of the  _ Cyclone _ to join the rest of their team. He clenched his fists and said, “Let’s go get my cousins, Gideon.”

“Certainly, Mr. Ramon,” Gideon replied.

The cargo door closed as the  _ Cyclone _ began rising into the air. In the blink of the eye, the  _ Cyclone _ disappeared into the temporal stream. Gideon was pushing the time ship faster than normal to reach 2037 as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, that meant the the flight was rockier than normal.

Mattie held on for dear life and looked down at the lucky charm hanging from his wrist. Lisa had given it to him the first time he got caught breaking into the comic book store by the Flash. His uncle had hauled him home with a disappointed look on his face. His dad wore the same expression as they talked about what could have happened if the CCPD had been the ones to catch him. However, later that night his mother came to his room with cookies and milk and her lucky bracelet. There were no recriminations or disappointed looks from her. Only a soft smile and the best advice a thief could ever receive--don’t get caught next time. He took her advice to heart and worked hard to perfect his technique for the next job he pulled--a candy store. Every criminal had to start somewhere.

The  _ Cyclone _ stopped rocking violently when they zipped out of the temporal stream and into the year 2037.

Gideon said, “Mr. Ramon, we have returned to the night that Captain Ramon picked you up. It is exactly midnight.”

Mattie unfastened the harness and said, “The twins will be in bed. How close can you get me to Uncle Lenny’s house?”

“It would not be wise to dally in this time for too long. I will cloak the  _ Cyclone _ in the park across the street from the house. However, it is quite possible that children will be awake. Captain Ramon thought to speak with them before he intercepted you at the jewelry store.”

Mattie said, “Sweet!”

Gideon landed in the park and opened the cargo door. “Please remember that time is of the essence, Mr. Ramon.”

“I got it, Gideon.”

Mattie pulled up his hood and ran out out of the  _ Cyclone _ . He could hear his heart thumping in his ears as he raced across the street to his uncles’ house. Mattie hopped the fence leading into their back yard as quietly as possible. Breaking into the house owned by Captain Cold and the Flash was a colossally bad idea but he didn’t really have much of a choice. The good news was that his uncle Barry shouldn’t be home. Team Flash was helping out with the operation at the museum. That left Uncle Lenny at home but he was likely in bed for the night. 

He picked the back door's lock and then hurried into the house to turn off the alarm. 

Mattie moved silently through the darkened house with the precision of someone that grew up running through it like a wild child.

Soon enough he was outside of Don’s room. He pushed the door open quietly and slipped into the room. He smiled seeing his little cousin tucked into bed for the night. Mattie dropped to one knee beside the bed and carded his hand through the boy’s hair. “Donnie…”

Donnie yawned and opened his eyes. His face lit up when he saw Mattie. He gushed. “Hi, Mattie!”

Mattie shushed him softly. “Hey, buddy. Leo sent me to get you and Dawn.”

“Really?”

He nodded and said, “Really? We have to go. There isn’t much time. I’m going to go wake, Dawnie. Okay?”

The boy scrambled out of bed wearing Batman pajamas. He had Barry’s green eyes and the caramel complexion of their biological mother, Iris. The ten-year-old reached underneath his bed and pulled out his backpack. The bag was stuffed to the gills with whatever a ten-year-old thought he’d need on an adventure.

Mattie opened the door to the Jack & Jill bathroom the twins shared and walked through to Dawn’s room. 

Dawn was already out of the bed and was grabbing the bags she stashed in the closet earlier. She had dark brown eyes like her biological mother but she was a much lighter complexion. 

She looked up in confusion at Mattie. “Where’s Leo?”

He smiled. “Leo sent me instead, kiddo. It’s okay but we’ve gotta go now.”

She nodded and put on her backpack. She was holding a smaller pink duffel bag, too.

Mattie led the way back to Donnie’s room. 

The boy had put on a pair of shoes was waiting excitedly. “Where are we going?”

Mattie whispered, “To Earth-3. Now follow me and be very quiet. We don’t want to wake up your dad.”

The two smaller children followed Mattie’s directions and quietly walked out of the bedroom. The stairs were a bit trickier but all three of them made it outside without waking up Leonard or setting off any of the hidden alarms in the house. 

Mattie said, “Okay. We’re going to run across the street to the park. The  _ Cyclone _ is waiting there for us.”

Donnie looked confused. “We can’t take the  _ Cyclone _ to Earth-3.”

Mattie smiled at him. “You’re right...we can’t. We’re going to take it back to 2016 first. Then we’re going to open a breach to Earth-3. Come on, you two. We have to be quick.

The twins looked at each other with mischievous smiles blurred over to the park in the blink of an eye because...speedsters. 

The older boy shook his head and ran across the street to meet up with them outside of the  _ Cyclone _ .

Gideon opened the cargo door as soon as he arrived and all three of them walked onto the time ship. 

Mattie said, “Let me take your bags and the two of you buckle up.”

The twins handed their bags over to Mattie and chose their seats. The kids were practically giddy because they weren’t often allowed on their father’s timeship. And they certainly never got the opportunity to time travel.

He tossed the bags into Leonard’s office since it was the closest room and he had to grab the breach catalyst. He then closed the door. The ride back to 2016 was going to be just as bumpy. He didn’t want the twins to get hurt because of their bags flying around the bridge.

Mattie ran back onto the bridge and sat in the captain’s chair. Then he looked to make sure the twins’ harnesses were fastened properly. “We’re ready, Gideon. Get us back to 2016, please.”

“I’ll have you there shortly, Mr. Ramon,” Gideon replied. 

The trip back to 2016 was down right violent as Gideon pushed the  _ Cyclone _ nearly to its limits. 

Mattie looked over the back of the chair when he heard panicked yelps from the twins. “It’s okay! We’re almost there. I promise. Just hold on a little longer.”

Sparks flew overhead as the  _ Cyclone _ burst out of the temporal stream and back into 2016. The time ship flew over Central City as an explosion rocked the city in the distance. 

“What was that Gideon?”

“There was an explosion at the Central City First National Bank,” Gideon replied.

Mattie swallowed thickly as he wondered if that was because of Zoom. His instincts told him to go help his family. However, a whimper from one of the twins reminded him why he couldn’t do that. He was responsible for his younger cousins now. If things went terribly wrong...he would be all they had left in the world. 

Gideon landed the  _ Cyclone _ and camouflaged the time ship. “You can open the breach for Earth-3 from here, Mr. Ramon. I bid the three of you safe travels and hope to see all of you again soon.”

Mattie stood up and said, “Thank you, Gideon.”

He walked over to his younger cousins and kneeled down in front of them. “Hey, it’s okay. We’re going to be okay. Let’s get our stuff and go visit Supergirl.”

Dawn grinned. “We’re going to go see Supergirl?”

He nodded. “Yep.”

Donnie said, “Cool!”

Mattie smiled at them and then stood up. He collected their bags and his and then walked off the  _ Cyclone _ with the twins following him. “Stay back for a minute. Okay?’

The twins nodded and watched in fascination as Mattie turned on the breach catalyst and tossed it a few yards away from them. There was a medium sized burst of energy and a breach opened. 

He beckoned them forward. “You two go through first and I will be right behind you.”

The twins clutched each others’ hands and blurred through the breach. 

Mattie gave one last look at his world and then stepped through the breach as well. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leo S. Ramon/Firestorm (Lisa and Cisco’s son)  
> Sofia Dearden Queen/Firestorm (Oliver and Felicity’s daughter)  
> Mateo ‘Mattie’ Ramon (Lisa and Cisco’s son)  
> William Clayton Queen/ Red Arrow (Oliver and Samantha’s son)  
> Laila Cressida Snart/ Conductress (Leonard and Lisa’s sister)  
> Richard ‘Dick’ Grayson/ Nightwing (Bruce Wayne’s adopted son)  
> Don Joseph Allen/ Tornado Twins (Leonard and Barry’s son via surrogate)  
> Dawn Nora Allen/ Tornado Twins (Leonard and Barry’s daughter via surrogate)


	21. Nothing is Ever as it Seems

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a formatting note: anything in bold is spoken over an earpiece. I hope that makes the interactions a little clearer.

**Central City--2016**

 

Being a good person was seriously putting a cramp into Leonard’s plans. He wanted to be questioning Rip Hunter while he held the cold gun on the man. He was even considering using the cold gun on a non-essential body part. The Time Master could get along well enough without a couple of fingers, right? Instead, five very destructive metahumans came through the breach near S.T.A.R. Labs and began wreaking havoc on the unsuspecting city—his city. Worst yet, Barry refused to let him kill a single one of them because apparently that was against the rules. So now, he stood in the middle of a snowstorm facing down some cackling idiot that could throw lightning bolts. Perhaps the only good news was that Zoom wasn’t among the metahumans that came through the breach.

Luckily, they weren’t short on people to help fight off the metahumans. Almost everyone had been congregating at S.T.A.R. Labs while they waited for Rip Hunter to arrive. Leonard was right in thinking that he wouldn’t be the only one ready to string up the man by his toes for his duplicity. Oliver Queen had looked perhaps the most furious of everyone in the room. Sara had seemed to be of the same mindset. Leonard really shouldn’t have been too surprised by that since all three of them were either killers currently or in the very recent past. It was surprisingly easy to relapse when it came to killing people. The desire was always lurking just beneath the surface, especially when someone was threatening something or someone precious.

Leonard dodged another bolt of lightning and managed to hit the jerk with a blast from his cold gun. The sheet of ice hit the man hard enough to send him sprawling backward onto the snow-covered ground. Snart moved in closer to ice the metahuman to the ground as a means to restrain him. However, he was caught off guard by an explosion in the distance. He could see flames and a thick cloud of smoke rising into the air a few blocks away from their position. Len involuntarily looked around for Barry. He’d lost sight of the younger man a few minutes ago and there was this inexplicable fear that Barry might have been near the explosion.  

Taking his eye off his opponent was a rookie mistake to be sure. Len knew it instantly and quickly turned around to give the metahuman his full attention. Unfortunately, the man had seized on his momentary lapse. He was already on his feet and preparing to hit Len with a bolt of lightning that would surely stop his heart if the scorch marks on the ground were any indication. Len raised the cold gun and fired a blast in hopes that it would deflect the bolt of lightning. However, he needn’t have worried about it because an arrow zipped through the air and struck the metahuman in the chest.

The man’s hands dropped to his side and he swayed dangerously before collapsing onto the ground in an unconscious heap.

Leonard looked over his shoulder and saw the Green Arrow nod in his direction. He nodded in gratitude and moved over to the unconscious man so that he could restrain him. He activated his comm unit, which he belatedly realized that he should have done from the beginning. “Where are you, Scarlet?”

**_“I’m on my way to Central City First National Bank with Firestorm. There was an explosion over there. Are you okay?”_ **

Len tried to ignore the warm feeling in the pit of his stomach when he heard the concern in Barry’s voice. However, it was short lived when he saw someone that looked very much like Firestorm flying in his direction. “I’m fine. Uh, I thought you said that Firestorm was with you, Scarlet.”

**_“They are. They’re right behind me. Why?”_ **

“Is there a Firestorm on Earth-2?” Len asked.

**_Barry said, “Yeah…there was a version. He was called Deathstorm but he was killed.”_ **

“Well, then I think Leo is here…we don’t know who else he brought with him to fight Zoom.”

**_Barry said, “I’ll send the warning out wide. Listen up, everyone! We have some allies that might be joining the fight. Specifically, there is another Firestorm joining the fight. It’s Leo and Sofia.”_ **

**_Lisa asked, “Leo’s here? My Leo? I’m coming out there!”_ **

Leonard barked, “Why is Lisa patched onto this channel, Ramon? You’re not coming out here, Lisa.”

**_“She must have stolen an earpiece when I wasn’t looking,” Cisco apologized._ **

Firestorm 2.0 landed right beside Leonard. Leo asked, “Where’s Zoom, Uncle Lenny?”

Leonard stared at his nephew for a solid minute before he snapped out of it. “He’s not here…as far as we can tell. Right now we’ve only come across his lackeys.”

“What’s the plan here then?” Leo asked.

“Subdue the metahumans and restrain them until we can transport them to Iron Heights for containment,” Leonard replied.

Black Siren approached the pair from their blind side and opened her mouth to let out her eardrum-shattering cry.

However, Leo raised his hand and blasted her with a fireball without even looking. He said, “Thanks for the warning, Red Arrow. You heard the man. Let’s round em up and keep an eye out for Zoom. They might just be a distraction.”

Leonard watched as his nephew blasted off into the sky once more to chase down a winged metahuman that was firing objects that looked like barbed talons. He didn’t like idea of his nephews out here fighting with them. However, he also realized that there was no stopping them now.

Sara whacked Black Siren across the back of her legs as she tried to get to her feet again. She practically growled at her sister’s doppelganger.

Black Siren grinned manically as she attacked Sara. “I almost wish that I brought my sister with me to kick your ass.”

Laurel shook off the shock of seeing the mirror image of herself and ran to help Sara. She said, “Not likely, you cheap rip off.”

Rupture seemingly came out of nowhere and swung his scythe in Sara’s direction. She only barely managed to avoid contact with it.

Black Siren and Black Canary screamed simultaneously. The sound waves crashing against one another sent them flying in opposite directions.

Red Arrow hopped onto the roof of a car and fired a tranquilizer arrow into Black Siren’s chest while she was disoriented.

Laurel looked up in confusion. “Roy?”

Red Arrow jumped down from the roof of the car and took off his hood. He extended his hand to her. He said, “No, I’m William.”

“William Clayton?” She took his hand and slowly stood up. Laurel had a massive headache from Black Siren’s attack. She was lucky to have countered the move or the damage could have been much worse. She tried taking a step forward and nearly fell over.

He grabbed both of Laurel’s arms to keep her from tipping over. “Uh, I go by William Queen now. Are you okay?”

Laurel nodded and slurred, “I’m fine…”

Red Arrow frowned deeply as he saw blood dripping from her ears. He said, “Guys, Black Canary is in bad shape. I’m going to carry her back S.T.A.R. Labs. I’ll be back when I can.”

**_Leo said, “Conductress, go with him. He won’t be able to fend off an attack if he’s carrying Black Canary.”_ **

**_“I’m on your six, Red Arrow. Lead the way,” Laila replied._ **

Red Arrow picked up Black Canary and hefted her into a fireman's carry. He took off toward S.T.A.R. Labs and kept his eyes peeled for any threats. He wouldn’t be able to do much but try an evasive maneuver. However, he trusted the Conductress to cover his back.

The Conductress spotted a massive metahuman barreling toward Red Arrow. She threw her hands out and used her telekinesis powers to send him flying into a building across the street.  **_“What the hell was that?”_ **

**_“He kinda reminds me of Blockbuster. Maybe he has a doppelganger on Earth-2,” William replied._ **

**_“So both Earth-1 and Earth-2 versions are villains? Peachy,” she drawled._ **

**_Red Arrow snorted in response. “Do we have a tranquilizer strong enough to bring down that behemoth?”_ **

**_She laughed, “Not likely and he won’t stay down for long. I’m going to have to peel off to take care of him or innocent people are going to get hurt.”_ **

**_Red Arrow said, “I’m close enough to S.T.A.R. Labs now. I’ll be fine.”_ **

**_“You’d better be. Nightwing, I need a rough calculation on how many tranq darts I’d need to take down someone roughly the size of a fully grown elephant.”_ **

Red Arrow increased his speed as he approached S.T.A.R. Lab’s main entrance.

Joe West and Harrison Wells were posted at the door as a first line of defense. They both had their weapons drawn and pointed at Red Arrow.

He removed his hood and said, “I’m friendly. I’m just here to drop off Black Canary. She lost consciousness after facing off with her Earth-2 doppelganger. She’s probably suffering from some sort of aural trauma.”

Wells studied him carefully. “He’s not from my Earth.”

William smiled. “I’m not a metahuman anyway. I’m just an archer.”

The older men slowly lowered their guns and waved him into the building.

Wells said, “I’ll show you to the medical bay.”

William smiled. “I know the way.”

Joe blinked. “How would you know the way?”

Wells said, “Ah, you’re part of the team that Ramon’s son assembled.”

**_Leo said, “Another breach is opening! We need you back here, Red Arrow. Now!”_ **

“You hit the nail on the head, Harry,” he quipped as he walked inside. He jogged down the hallway to reach the cortex faster. He needed to drop off Laurel and rejoin the fight quickly.

Caitlin was standing by when he walked into the cortex. “Bring her over here, please.”

Felicity, Cisco, and Iris were parked in front of the bank of computers as they provided support for everyone.

Lisa was sitting nearby watching the action on the computer monitors.

Felicity’s eyes followed the archer. She had heard Laurel over the comms but didn’t get to hear the reply. She knew now was not the time but couldn’t help being curious about the archer.

Red Arrow carried her into the medical bay and placed her on a bed. “She was slurring her words before she lost consciousness.”

She nodded. “Thank you for helping her.”

“My pleasure, Dr. Snow.” He prepared to walk out of the room but stopped short seeing a little girl sleeping in the next bed. William realized that it was Laila.

Caitlin asked, “Is everything okay?”

He nodded and said, “Yeah. I should go.”

Caitlin eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she watched him leave.

**_Red Arrow said, “New wrinkle, guys. Conductress, your younger counterpart is in the building. Your sister is here, too.”_ **

**_Leo said, “Great! That means I’m there, too. We’re going to cause a metacrisis. I can just feel it.”_ **

**_Conductress grunted. “I’ve got it. Stay clear of S.T.A.R. Labs so that I don’t run into myself. Shouldn’t be too hard since I am literally running away from Blockbuster’s uglier cousin.”_ **

**_Red Arrow winced in sympathy. “Do you need my help?”_ **

**_“No. Nightwing and I are running him ragged while the tranqs take effect. His massive body is just taking a little longer to react.”_ **

**_“Maybe you didn’t use enough,” Red Arrow replied._ **

**_Nightwing replied, “Anymore and we’ll stop his heart. I don’t think we have anything strong enough to restart his heart if that happens.”_ **

**_Red Arrow groaned. "Running it is..."_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leo S. Ramon/Firestorm (Lisa and Cisco’s son)  
> Sofia Dearden Queen/Firestorm (Oliver and Felicity’s daughter)  
> Mateo ‘Mattie’ Ramon (Lisa and Cisco’s son)  
> William Clayton Queen/ Red Arrow (Oliver and Samantha’s son)  
> Laila Cressida Snart/ Conductress (Leonard and Lisa’s sister)  
> Richard ‘Dick’ Grayson/ Nightwing (Bruce Wayne’s adopted son)  
> Don Joseph Allen/ Tornado Twins (Leonard and Barry’s son via surrogate)  
> Dawn Nora Allen/ Tornado Twins (Leonard and Barry’s daughter via surrogate)


	22. Social Media Director, Supergirl, & Multiverse Babysitter?

**National City--2016(Earth-3)**

 

 

Kara thought the hard part about starting a relationship with Jimmy Olsen would be confessing her true feelings and braving possible rejection. She practically lived in the friend zone as a teenager. However, the pep talk from Barry coupled with the whole world nearly dying finally pushed the two of them together. Unfortunately, dating a superhero is hard work and takes a surprising amount of maneuvering. In the last month, they had planned a total of six dates. Two of the dates were cut incredibly short and the other four just didn’t happen at all. Sometimes it was Supergirl business that ruined their plans. 

However, Ms. Grant and CatCo were just as guilty of torpedoing their dates as the villains and evildoers were. Kara loved her new position as the Social Media Director but it meant that she had even more work than she did as Ms. Grant’s personal assistant. Kara still didn’t know how that was even remotely possible. Although, Kara wasn’t the only one that had to bail out of dates because of work obligations. On more than one occassion, Cat had summoned Jimmy back to the office after hours to work on something she deemed too important to wait until morning. 

Despite the numerous obstacles, the couple was trying lucky date number seven tonight. However, they had taken a few precautions to ensure success. Alex assured Kara that the DEO was capable of protecting National City for one night. Supergirl was hanging up her cape and leather boots for the evening. Jimmy and Kara also decided to turn off their phones during the date. Wynn agreed to field any calls from Ms. Grant. Short of the world ending, all other emergencies could wait until the next day.However, their smartest decision was planning a quiet night at Kara’s apartment. Jimmy picked up pizzas from their favorite place and Kara chose the movie. It was simple and absolutely perfect for the two of them. Hopefully, they could avoid all of those awful first date jitters.

Jimmy flipped open one of  the boxes of pizza sitting on Kara’s coffee table and settled back on the couch. He draped an arm behind her and asked, “What are we watching tonight?”

Kara said, “We’re watching  _ Mr. & Mrs. Smith.  _ I thought it would be a good compromise. It’s a love story but without too much mushy stuff.”

He smiled. “Good choice, but you can’t ever really go wrong with Brad Pitt.”

“I didn’t know you were a Brad Pitt fan. I’ll keep that in mind for the future,” Kara replied. She devoured three slices of pizza in the blink of an eye. 

Jimmy watched her with a genuine smile as he finished his first slice.

She winced when she realized that Jimmy was watching her. He’d seen her eat in the past but she was worried that perhaps it was a turn off now that they were dating. There were different rules for what as appropriate behavior when hanging out with friends. She asked, “Is that weird to watch now that we’re dating?”

He chuckled. “No. Not at all. I was just thinking that it’s nice to see you like this.”

She timidly tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and asked, “Like what?”

Jimmy leaned closer and said, “I don’t know...happy. Relaxed. Completely yourself. Not just Kara Danvers or Supergirl but you...the sum of your parts. It’s magnificent...you are magnificent.”

Kara pushed her glasses up onto her nose as she blushed. “Uh, thank you. You’re the first person I’ve dated that I could be myself with. It’s a new feeling but I like it.”

“I’m glad. I’m also happy that we finally have a night to ourselves. I was beginning to think that fate was playing some cruel joke on us. But tonight nothing is going to interrupt our date,” Jimmy said.

She shrieked playfully and covered her face with her hands. “You’ve got to be kidding me, James. You’ve just invited all sorts of bad luck our way. The universe is going to send a flaming asteroid our way just to prove you wrong.”

He chuckled. “I didn’t think that you were superstitious, Kara.”

“I’ve lived here long enough to pick up a few things. Besides, we weren’t unfamiliar with the machinations of the universe  and karma on Krypton. Mark my words some major catastrophe is going to interrupt our date tonight and it will be all your fault, James Olsen.” 

Jimmy cupped her cheek and kissed away the frown on her face. Afterwards he smiled. “Nothing is going to get in our way tonight, Kara. We’ve planned for everything. Let’s start the movie.”

“Okay,” she replied in an almost dazed voice. 

He tried not to look too smug about the glazed on Kara’s face.

Kara had a salient point to make before Jimmy kissed her. But now she was all flustered, distracted, and had completely forgotten her argument. It was really unfair for someone to smell so good and to kiss so well. She picked up the remote and started the movie. Afterwards, she snuggled in closer to Jimmy and tucked herself beneath his shoulder. 

The couple cuddled on the couch while watching the movie and quietly commenting on various scenes. They easily demolished two of the four pizzas that Jimmy picked up earlier. Truthfully, Jimmy ate half of a pizza and Kara finished off the other one and a half. 

Despite liking the film, it was largely forgotten before they even made it to the huge fight scene between Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. What started off as a few kisses had morphed into a full make out session. Technically, it was their first date but no one could blame them for dispensing with all of the formalities. They’d been in a relationship for an entire month and had been miserably pining for each other for much longer than that. Making out like a couple of teenagers was their reward for displaying perseverance in the face of numerous obstacles.

Kara was beginning to think that Jimmy had been right about superstitions being silly. The universe wasn’t secretly conspiring to keep them apart. Their lives were just complicated and interruptions were to be expected from time to time. They would just have to work harder to make time for each other outside of work and saving National City from the villain of the week. It was possible if they tried hard enough. Tonight was proof of that. Spending alone time with Jimmy was worth it--it was definitely worth it.

They were startled apart by a loud knock on her apartment door. They both stared at one another with confused expressions for just a moment. However, a second knock at the door started their brains to working again. 

Jimmy grabbed the remote and paused the movie. “Who could that be at this hour?”

She pointed at Jimmy as she stood up and buttoned her blouse. “I told you that the universe is kind of a jerk. But no, you were all I don’t believe in superstitions, Kara.”

Jimmy laughed at the deep voice she used to imitate him. He asked, “Was that supposed to be an impression of me?”

She huffed as she went to the door. “Yes. And it was a good one, if I don’t say so myself.”

He watched as she peered out of the peephole. He asked, “Is it an asteroid?”

Kara looked over her shoulder with a dumbfounded expression. “No, they’re three children. It’s late for kids to be out. Isn’t it?”

Jimmy looked at his watch and nodded. “Very late. Maybe they’re lost or one of your neighbors’ kids.”

She cleared her throat and then opened the door with a warm smile. “Hi. Can I help you?”

Donnie was in the middle of yawning and rubbing his eyes when Kara opened the door. He smiled and hugged her waist. “Hi, Aunt Kara!”

Kara blinked in shock because that was the last thing she expected the little boy to say. However, before she could respond to him she felt dual gusts of wind blow past her. She looked down and realized that the two little kids were gone and only the teenager remained.

Donnie grabbed a slice of pizza out of the box and bit into it. “Yummy!”

Dawn followed suit and bit into a slice as well. She grinned and waved. “Hi, Uncle Jimmy.”

Jimmy sputtered. “Uncle Jimmy?”

Kara stared at them and then looked back at the teenager. 

Mattie clapped a hand over his forehead and said, “I’m sorry. I’m really sorry about them. They ran a long way and they’re hungry. I told them to wait until I explained everything but you know...kids.”

Kara blinked again as she waited for the explanation that still hadn’t occurred. She was mildly amused at him calling the twins ‘kids’ when he was himself a child.

Mattie eyes widened and he said, “Oh. Hi, I’m Mateo Ramon and they are Dawn and Don Allen. That probably means absolutely nothing to you right now. However, I’m hoping that the name Barry Allen rings a bell.”

She nodded slowly. “Barry Allen, the Flash, from a different Earth…”

He breathed a sigh of relief. “Cool! I was really hopping that we hadn’t gotten our years mixed up. My older brother believed that you met our uncle in 2016. But some pretty wonky things have been happening with the timelines on our Earth and I couldn’t be sure.”

Kara was beyond confused. “Is Barry with you?”

“No. Uh, something has gone wrong on our Earth.”

She studied the strained look on his face. “I’m sorry. Where are my manners? Please, come inside.”

Jimmy was just staring at the twins devour slice after slice of pizza. 

She said, “James, this Mateo Ramon and Don and Dawn Allen. They’re relatives of Barry Allen.”

He nodded slowly. They certainly ate as if they were related to the speedster.“Yes, I can believe that.”

Mateo whispered, “Could we talk somewhere private? They don’t actually know what’s going on. They think that we’re on an adventure. I don’t want to scare them.”

Kara looked at the two children for a moment. They both looked so carefree which was in complete contrast to the tense expression worn by the teen. She nodded and said, “Sure. Let’s go out into the hallway. Maybe James can find some cartoons for the kids while we talk.”

Jimmy nodded as he finally collected himself. “Of course. We’ll be right here.”

Mateo kneeled down so that he was eye level with the kids. “I’m going to be right outside. I’ll be back in a few minutes. Be good and try not to eat all of their pizza. Okay?”

The twins nodded dutifully and sat down on the couch with Jimmy. They both thought the sun rose and set with their awesome Cousin Mattie. He was closer to their age than Leo was. They always had fun when Mattie looked after them. It was mostly because he had a complete disregard for rules.

Kara followed Mateo out of the apartment and she closed the door behind them.

Jimmy stared at the door for a moment before turning to look at the two children sitting beside him on the couch. He picked up the remote and asked, “What cartoons do you like?”

“The Bear Squad!” they exclaimed in unison. 

Jimmy looked perplexed and then said, “I don’t know if we have that cartoon on our Earth.”

Donnie deflate a bit. “Oh, okay.”

Jimmy quickly replied, “But I’m sure that I can find something else fun for us to watch. There are tons of cartoons and Kara has a lot of great channels.”

The twins snagged a few more pieces of pizzas and ate them just as quickly as they had the others. They had run all the way from the desert, towing Mattie behind them. It wasn’t a particularly difficult feat with both of them sharing the load. However, like Barry they required a high caloric diet to replenish the energy they spent. 

He channel surfed until he found  _ Teen Titans Go _ . Jimmy wouldn’t admit it to anyone but he sometimes found himself watching the program OnDemand in the middle of the night when he couldn’t sleep. He figured it would be the perfect show to distract the kids from whatever trouble was lurking in the shadows.

Don and Dawn watched a few minutes before starting to laugh at the characters’ antics. 

Don said, “It’s a show about Uncle Dick. Cool!”

Jimmy glanced at the dwindling food supply and realized he would need to order more. The kids were obviously hungry and he was sure that Kara would be hungry again soon. He reached for his phone and started to call Kara’s favorite place.

Dawn asked, “Is Astra here?”

Jimmy nearly dropped his phone. “Astra? Kara’s aunt?”

The apartment door opened and in walked Kara and Mattie.

Dawn looked confused. “No. Astra…”

Mattie said, “Dawn…”

She looked at her older cousin. “Huh?”

He walked over to the couch and then kneeled down in front of her. He ruffled her hair and asked, “Do you remember what I said about us being in the year 2016?”

Donnie helpfully piped up. “Everything is different because lots of stuff hasn’t happened yet.”

Mattie smiled at him and nodded. “Right.”

Dawn pouted and said, “I’m sorry, Mattie.”

He smiled because literally just a few hours ago he was apologizing to his older brother for making a similar mistake. Mattie huffed out a laugh and said, “It’s okay. It’s an easy thing to forget. You’ve never time traveled before. It can be confusing. I’ve only done this twice and it is still confusing for me, too.”

“But if Astra isn’t here yet, that means that we won’t have anyone to play with,” Donnie added with a small frown.

He smiled at his younger cousin. “Hey! You have me. Don’t we always have fun together?”

The twins nodded together.

Kara cleared her throat. “The three of you know my aunt Astra?”

Mattie slowly got to his feet and shook his head. “No, but we know someone else by the same name. I really shouldn’t say anything else. Uncle Barry and Uncle Lenny have told me my whole life that foreknowledge was dangerous. I never believed them until everything started unraveling. I mean my whole life I’ve seen flashes of the future. I didn’t see the big deal. I don’t want to cause you the same trouble.”

Kara smiled politely and nodded in agreement. She didn’t really need Mateo to tell her anything more.  There were enough clues to make an educated guess. Obviously, sometime in the future she has a daughter and decides to name her Astra. She didn’t doubt for a moment that she would honor her aunt in that way. For all of the wrongs that Astra committed, she loved Kara and Kara loved her. 

Jimmy cleared his throat. “Ah, I was going to order more pizza. Who’s in?”

The twins’ hands went up in the air. “Me!”

Mateo nodded. “I could eat.”

Kara smiled. “Me, too.” She sat down on the side of her coffee table and said, “You guys are going to be staying with me for a little while. So I want you all to make yourself at home.”

Mattie smiled gratefully. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leo S. Ramon/Firestorm (Lisa and Cisco’s son)  
> Sofia Dearden Queen/Firestorm (Oliver and Felicity’s daughter)  
> Mateo ‘Mattie’ Ramon (Lisa and Cisco’s son)  
> William Clayton Queen/ Red Arrow (Oliver and Samantha’s son)  
> Laila Cressida Snart/ Conductress (Leonard and Lisa’s sister)  
> Richard ‘Dick’ Grayson/ Nightwing (Bruce Wayne’s adopted son)  
> Don Joseph Allen/ Tornado Twins (Leonard and Barry’s son via surrogate)  
> Dawn Nora Allen/ Tornado Twins (Leonard and Barry’s daughter via surrogate)


	23. Gone in a Flash

**Central City--2016**

 

For two hours, metahumans came through breaches all over Central City. The team inside of S.T.A.R. Labs were monitoring the activity and dispatching teams to apprehend them. It was physically taxing and time consuming but ultimately not very difficult. It became obvious that the metahumans’ only purpose was to cause mayhem and to distract them. It was unsettling to think that Zoom was watching all of this unfold from the shadows. The speedster was probably gauging their reaction times. He certainly knew now that the Flash had backup. The element of surprise was completely lost. However,  it wasn't as if they could or even would consider letting the metahumans run amuck just to safeguard their fight strategy.

Len could feel his body beginning to slow down. He had been fighting Rupture for the last ten minutes but thus far it had been a draw. Both men’s fighting skills and weapons were evenly matched. Len kept searching for a way to capitalize on a weakness but one had yet to present itself. He didn’t know how much longer he could continue on like this. He was bound to make a costly mistake sooner or later. However, he couldn’t exactly call for backup. Even if he was amenable to asking for help, which he rarely was, everyone was already busy fighting a metahuman of their own.

The Flash finally subdued a werejaguar that had ripped part of his suit. He was bleeding but fortunately he would heal in a matter of minutes. He glanced over to check on Len and felt his heartbeat pick up. He zipped across the parking lot and grasped Len with one arm. He sped the older man several yards away just as a metahuman with wolf like features was about to attack him. Rupture had been subtly maneuvering Len into the metahuman’s path for the last several minutes. Barry shuddered to think of what the voracious creature would have done to Len with its impressive teeth and claws.

Len felt disoriented and sick to his stomach for just a moment when he stopped moving again. However, the frustrated roar from the place he’d just been standing explained why Barry felt the need to whisk him away without notice. He fired his cold gun at the wolf creature’s legs hoping to hold him in place. He had no idea how they were going to use the dampening cuffs on someone without human appendages. However, that wasn’t really his concern. Team Flash and the police would have to figure that one out. He flashed a toothy smile at Barry. He drawled, “Thanks for the assist, Scarlet.”

Barry grinned at Len and replied, “Any time, Cold.”

“I’ll have to repay you somehow,” Len teased.

“I could think of a few ways,” Barry replied.

**Heatwave said, “I told you there was flirting involved, Boss.”**

Len chuckled, “Shut it, Mick.”

**Oliver grunted over the comms and said, “Less flirting and more fighting. The two of you can work out repayment methods later.”**

Barry’s cheeks went rosy and he cleared his throat. In a stilted overly deep voice, he replied, “On it, Green Arrow.”

Len chuckled and shot Barry a smug look. He loved making the younger man flustered even if this wasn’t the best time for it. Len opened his mouth to say something downright lascivious but a flying baton caught his attention. He watched the metal baton whack the back of Rupture’s head. The meathuman collapsed onto the ground having been knocked unconscious. The baton then rose from the ground and flew back into a young woman’s hand.

She stalked over to the unconscious man and kicked his scythe out of his reach just incase he woke up sooner than expected. Although, people didn’t tend to just pop back up after getting knocked out by one of the Conductress’ batons. Her batons were constructed using one of the strongest metals known to man. She fastened the dampening cuffs on Rupture’s wrists and then looked around for her next target. There wasn’t exactly a shortage of them out here. She waved at Len and said, “Hiya, Lenny.”

Len had seen the younger woman out there fighting with them but hadn’t been able to place her until just now. Perhaps there wasn’t a chance to really get a good look at her earlier amidst all of the fighting. And at one point she had been wearing a mask that obscured her eyes and nose. However, those sharp gray eyes and that distinctive chin identified her straight away. Len couldn’t believe how much his baby sister still looked like him. Fortunately, maturity had softened up some of her sharper features and she wasn’t lanky anymore. But Laila still resembled a prettier (female) version of Len. He found himself walking across the parking lot to reach her. He said, “Laila. Leo brought you with him?”

She smiled at her older brother for a moment. Laila of course remembered Len very well at this particular age. Despite being on the Wave Rider for most of 2016, he always seemed to stop in often enough to leave an impression on the girl. Laila knew that she was loved and that Lenny only went away to protect her future. She said, “I couldn’t let my nephews come back here and have all the fun without me. Being on a crew of swashbuckling time-travelers just happens to be on my bucket list. Besides, Snarts always take care of their own. My life wouldn’t be the same without Lisa and Mick being there every step of the way. And it’s a good life, Lenny. It’s a really good life. ”

Len couldn’t stop himself from pulling the girl into a hug. He had worried so much whether or not they would be able to give Laila a good life. There hadn’t even been a second thought when her mother died. Lisa took custody of the girl while he was in prison and then enrolled her in an all girl’s boarding school all the way in Gateway City. The Snart siblings wanted the youngest of them as far away from their father and their enemies as possible.

Barry walked over cautiously. “Is everything okay, Len?”

Laila smiled and said, “Yeah, he’s just getting emotional because I am all grown up now.”

Len cleared his throat. “I’m not emotional.”

“Yes, you are. I should go. More metahumans to detain for the police. See you later, big brother,” Laila said. She grinned at them and then took off to help Red Arrow round up the wolf-like metahuman. He was still encased by the ice but he was starting to break loose.

William had fired a net around the metahuman and was attempting to drag him toward the waiting police van.

Laila asked, “Need any help?”

“You’re a sight for sore eyes, beautiful. Yes, I could use some help. He weighs a ton and he’s struggling. I tried a tranquilizer on him but it isn’t working. It might be because he’s closer to a wolf than an actual human,” he replied.

“You’re probably right. Canines run hotter than humans do and their metabolism is very different. Keep the net cinched closed and I’ll do the rest.”

He nodded and tightened his grip on the net’s drawstring. “You’ve got it.”

The metahuman slowly began levitating in mid-air as Laila raised her hands.

She turned around and began walking toward the police van parked down the street. She held one hand in the air ensuring that the netted metahuman would float behind her. Laila walked swiftly down the street and stopped in front of a police officer. “We have another one for you.”

“What the hell is that?” the man asked with wide eyes.

“Some sort of wolfman...werewolf. I don’t know,” she replied as the officer opened the van’s doors.

William said, “You might want to take him to Iron Heights straight away. I don’t know how long the ice will hold him.”

Suddenly, a blue blur of electrcity whipped past them.

Laila and William knew instantly what it was and they simultaneously said, “Zoom!”

Captain Singh began yelling to his officers. “Clear the area! We don’t want Zoom freeing the metahumans that were just captured!”

Laila looked at William. “I need you to protect Lisa and younger me inside of S.T.A.R. Labs. I’m going to go find Leo and Sofia. We’ll look after your dad and Heatwave.”

William didn’t like that plan at all but he realized that was the only viable option. He kissed her and said, “I’ll move them into the pipeline if I think Zoom is a real threat. Don’t die.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” she replied and then sprinted toward the parking lot where all of the fighting was taking place.

She slowed down upon realizing that all of the fighting had come to a halt. The dead silence felt like something out of a horror film. Everyone was staring up at the roof with wide eyes and slack jaws. Laila came to a stop and looked up to see what had caught everyone’s attention. She clapped a hand to her mouth to stifle the anguish cry that threatened to escape her. Zoom was holding a battered and broken Nightwing by the collar of his disguise.

Laila stood on the ground and looked up at S.T.A.R. Lab’s roof with tear filled eyes. Momentarily, it felt as if her heart had stopped along with all of the fighting around her. Everyone’s attention was focused on Zoom and his hapless victim. However, just as quickly as everything stopped, adrenaline and fury surged through her veins like wildfire. Dick was her best friend and her first love. She couldn’t even begin to imagine her life without his presence. Moreover, she wouldn’t let him die here fighting for her family. He had no business being here tonight. No matter his explanations, Laila knew that he granted Leo’s request of assistance for her benefit.

She blinked back the tears that she refused to let fall right now. She could cry later in private, when Dick was safe again. Laila’s eyes scanned the snowy terrain for Leo and Sofia. Fortunately, it was never hard to find the pair when they were merged as Firestorm. They burned brighter than anything she’d ever seen before. Laila sprinted across the parking lot to reach them quickly. She said, “Get me up to the roof now before Zoom decides to drop Dick just to taunt the Flash. He won’t see me coming if we fly up the back way. I’ll get him to drop Dick so that you can get him out of there.”

Leo frowned because he didn’t like this plan at all. Leaving his aunt with that maniac wasn’t very high on his list but they also couldn’t leave Dick at Zoom’s mercy. He didn’t feel the need to antagonize William like his younger brother did, but he too thought of Dick as his uncle. Furthermore, he put this team together. They were his responsibility and he wasn’t about to lose one of them like this. He needed to get Dick to the _Cyclone_  where Gideon could help him. He said, “We’ll burn you. We’ve been using our powers almost non-stop for two hours.There’s nothing I can do to turn the heat down.”

She smiled at her nephew and said, “I know that, Leo. I don’t care. I can deal with a few burns but I can’t let Dick die at Zoom’s hands. We’ll fly up the backside of the building out of his line of sight. Hopefully, he’ll be occupied by taunting the Flash. You’ll get me as close to Zoom as you can but be prepared to dive down to catch Dick if he’s dropped because of our interference. Don’t worry about trying to come back for me. Just get Dick back to the _Cyclone_. I’ll get down from the roof on my own.”

**“You know that you aren’t going to be able to talk Laila out of doing this. We might as well get it over with and provide her with a little cover if we can. Even if Zoom’s suit is flame retardant, getting hit with one of our fireballs hurts,” Sofia interjected in Leo’s head.**

Leo scowled and hoisted Laila up from underneath her armpits. He then blasted off the ground and flew around to the back of S.T.A.R. Labs. He quickly soared high into the sky hoping to catch Zoom off guard. Surprise and an aerial attack would be their only advantage in this situation. Zoom’s speed made him too formidable a foe to fight face-to-face. He could kill Dick and Laila in a matter of seconds if their maneuver wasn’t executed with precision.

Captain Cold caught sight of his nephew and younger sister and scowled because he knew exactly what the pair had in mind. He didn’t like the idea one bit. However, he had no choice but to back his play now. He shouted, “You’re a coward, Zoom! Come down here and fight like a man!”

Zoom hissed, “It doesn’t matter how many people you get to fight your battles for you, Flash. You’re always going to lose. How many of your friends and family will I have to kill tonight in order for you to surrender to me? Maybe this one isn’t important? Who is he behind this mask? I don’t recognize the disguise. Perhaps you’d have more of a reaction of I were to kill Captain Cold. He is the one that climbed into your bedroom window last night. Isn’t he?”

Barry’s jaw twitched and he instinctively moved closer to Len to protect him. He shivered at the thought of Zoom watching the two of them. “Leave everyone else out of this, Zoom! They don’t have anything to do with it. Your problem is with me. Then come and face me!”

Leo was grateful to see that Zoom was focused on the banter with Uncle Lenny and Uncle Barry. The chances of prying Dick from the speedster’s clutches had gone up another couple of percentage points. He still wasn’t overly confident of their chances.

However, Dick was paying attention even in his injured state. He was hanging limply in Zoom’s grasp one moment and then next he was stabbing the man in the thigh with an expanding det-dagger. It was one of his more insidious gadgets but this situation certainly called for it. The det-dagger expanded when activated to cause more damage to the nearby bone, tissue, and muscles in the wound. However, the piece de resistance was the mini explosion that followed.

Zoom roared liked a wounded animal when the the dagger exploded in his leg. He tossed Dick into the air and sonic punched the younger man’s back as he flew over the edge of the building.

Leo forcibly threw his aunt in the speedster’s direction and then did a steep dive over the side of the building to keep Dick from hitting the ground. Leo managed to grab the injured man at the last possible moment and slowly lowered them to the ground. He shouted. “Laila’s up there with Zoom! She needs help!”

Laila had a cartridge containing the nanite serum in her hand. She jabbed Zoom in the neck with it and used her powers of telekinesis to throw him across the roof and into metal maintenance shack.

Zoom roared angrily but faltered when he felt a strange tingling in his body. He immediately recognized that this was different from what the Flash had tried to use on him previously. It was stronger and more potent. He could feel his speed diminishing as the angry young woman stalked toward him.

Laila tossed three more cartridges into the air and used her powers to fling them at Zoom at an alarming speed.

He successfully batted them away but noticed his diminished reaction time. Zoom noted the gleam in the woman’s eyes and realized that she also recognized that he was slower. Zoom ran at her full speed and knocked her to the ground with a punch to the face. He wrapped a hand around her throat and squeezed. “Who are you?”

Laila struggled to breathe. She closed her eyes and focused on her powers. She focused on the vice like grip Zoom’s fingers had on her throat.

He howled as two of his fingers bent backwards without his permission and subsequently broke.

She laughed manically as blood dripped from her nose and mouth.

Jax flew up to the roof and began bombarding the speedster with fireballs.

Ray Palmer was right behind him in his ATOM suit. He fired plasma blasts at Zoom.

The Flash zipped up the side of the building and raced toward Zoom.

Zoom tilted his head and stared at Laila for a moment. He tossed her to her to the ground and then ripped open a breach. “We’ll meet again soon…”

Laila spit blood onto the roof. “I’ll be waiting.”

Zoom hopped into the breach but the Flash raced forward and grabbed the man’s arm.

For several tense moments, it was a game of tug-of-war as the two speedsters fought to pull the other onto their respective Earth.

However, Barry suddenly lost his footing and stumbled forward.

Ray grabbed Barry and wrenched him out of the breach just as it closed with Zoom on the other side.

Barry stared at the space where Zoom stood just a few moments ago. Once again, the speedster had slipped through his fingers.

Jax landed next to Laila and asked, “Are you okay?”

She slowly stood up and wiped the blood off her face. She said, “I’m fine.”

Ray frowned at the bruises that were already forming on her face. “We should let Dr. Snow look at you.”

Laila smiled at him. “I can’t go inside S.T.A.R. Labs. I’m already there. Getting that close to my younger self isn’t advisable. Can you get me off this roof? I can head back to the ship and let Gideon patch me up.”

Barry snapped out of his thoughts. He said, “I can get you over there.”

She said, “Thanks.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leo S. Ramon/Firestorm (Lisa and Cisco’s son)  
> Sofia Dearden Queen/Firestorm (Oliver and Felicity’s daughter)  
> Mateo ‘Mattie’ Ramon (Lisa and Cisco’s son)  
> William Clayton Queen/ Red Arrow (Oliver and Samantha’s son)  
> Laila Cressida Snart/ Conductress (Leonard and Lisa’s sister)  
> Richard ‘Dick’ Grayson/ Nightwing (Bruce Wayne’s adopted son)  
> Don Joseph Allen/ Tornado Twins (Leonard and Barry’s son via surrogate)  
> Dawn Nora Allen/ Tornado Twins (Leonard and Barry’s daughter via surrogate)


	24. Apple of My Eye

**Central City--2016**

 

Laila groaned as she woke up in the Cyclone’s medical bay. She wasn't really surprised that she lost consciousness after facing Zoom. She had taken a punch to the face that would have knocked out a regular human on impact. It was probably only adrenaline and her altered DNA that allowed her to stave off unconsciousness for as long as she had. She had felt a palpable sense of relief when Barry offered to transport her to the Cyclone. His presence was a sense of comfort--he was safety. Barry had been as much a part of her upbringing as Leonard and Lisa had been. Laila bounced from Lisa and Cisco’s house to Len and Barry’s house on a biweekly basis as child. 

As the haze began to fade, Laila’s concern for Dick returned in full force. She trusted that Leo and Sofia would have gotten him to the Cyclone as fast as they could manage. However, she knew from experience that very few things ever truly went to plan. Things were even less prone to going right when metahumans from a parallel universe were actively attempting to thwart you. That particular roadblock hindered Laila more often than she would like because of her position with ARGUS. She slowly sat up in bed and moved her jaw experimentally. Laila was certain that Zoom’s punch had fractured part of her face. Fortunately, she didn’t feel any pain. “Thanks for the assist, Gideon. I feel as good as new.”

“You’re welcome, Agent Snart,” Gideon replied. 

Laila stood up and wrinkled her nose at the hospital gown that she was wearing. She would have to find her clothes later. If she knew her nephew, and she did, he had probably hidden her clothes to prevent her from rejoining the fight. Laila walked across the room and stopped beside Dick’s bed. His face was a deathly pale color and his skin was mottled with black and blue bruises. However, she could tell by the monitors tracking his condition that he was on the mend. His injuries were more extensive than hers had been so it would take longer for him to recover. 

Laila slid her hand into his and squeezed gently as tears slid down her cheeks. It felt as if all of the emotions that she had been holding in for the last day or so burst forth at once. So much was riding on the success of their mission. Laila had been focused on saving her family and her future. She felt like a wretch for neglecting to consider what it would mean to lose Dick. Their relationship had ended a few years ago but he was family to her and always would be. “I don’t know what I would do if I lost you, Dick. I’m so sorry. You shouldn’t even be here. What the hell would I tell Bats if you died here?”

The doors to the medical bay slid open and Len walked into the room with Lisa at his side. When Barry sped off the roof of S.T.A.R. Labs with Laila in his arms, Len had considered staying to fight the remaining metahumans. He didn’t like the idea of leaving their motley crew another man down. However, Mick had insisted that he go check on the kid. Len knew that his partner was right. He would have never been able to focus if he was worried about Laila. He said, “Laila. Gideon told us that you were awake. How are you feeling?”

“Laila?” Lisa called out in a concerned voice. They had been waiting nearly an hour for the young woman to regain consciousness. Lisa had been on pins and needles the entire time. Honestly, the expectant mother had been that way the entire night. She didn’t enjoy knowing that the people she loved were putting themselves in danger while she was forced to sit on the sidelines. Len was going to try to leave her at S.T.A.R. Labs while he checked on their little sister but she threatened to do something  incredibly drastic and destructive. He knew better than to think it was an idle threat. 

Laila hastily dried her eyes on the sleeve of her hospital gown and then turned to look at her older siblings--well technically they were her younger older siblings but still older than she was now. Laila tilted her head and did the math silently. She was actually the same age as Lisa was currently. Laila shook off the strange timey-wimey details and said, “I’m feeling much better thanks to Gideon. I don’t even have a neat bruise to show off from my fight with Zoom. The two of you didn’t need to schlep all the way over here in the snow to check on me.”

Lisa moved across the room faster than any heavily pregnant woman should be able to. She enveloped Laila in a fierce hug despite her stomach being in the way. For several minutes, she didn’t move or say a single word. Lisa just held onto to her younger sister for dear life as all of the possible outcomes from that showdown with Zoom raced through her overtired brain. When her emotions were finally under control, she slowly pulled back from the hug and smoothed had over Laila’s curly black hair. “What the hell were you thinking going after Zoom on your  own, Laila Cressida Snart?”

Len leaned against the wall as the knot that had been in his chest for the last hour began to loosen. Both of his sisters were safe for the time being. It wasn’t much of a comfort but it would have to be enough for now. He’d figure out a way to keep them all safe or he’d die trying. 

She blinked in surprise and then chuckled quietly. “Wow. It’s been a long time since you’ve called me by my full given name, Lise. I’m sorry that I made you worry about me but I had to do something. Zoom would have killed Nightwing just to bait the Flash. I couldn’t let that happen. He’s my teammate. He’s my friend.”

Lisa peered into her sister’s bloodshot eyes and then looked at the way that Laila still clutched the unconscious man’s hand. She said, “I’d say that he was a little more than that. Who is he?”

Laila shook her head in surprise. She asked, “Do you remember Dickie?”

“The rich kid that you met at summer camp last year?” asked Lisa after some thought. The elder Snart siblings sent Laila to camp the previous summer. Lewis had been out of prison at the time and they hadn’t wanted to risk him even seeing her. The boarding school tuition and the two month long camp were incredibly expensive but they both decided it was worth it to protect her. 

She nodded. “That’s the one.”

Lisa laughed quietly and oogled his toned physique with an appreciative glint in her eyes. “Well, he grew up well, didn’t he?”

Laila ducked her head in embarrassment. She complained, “Lisa…”

She just laughed harder and asked, “Are the two of you together?”

Laila’s expression changed to something conflicted and she promptly shook her head. “No. We were once...for a long time actually. He’s just a really good friend now. Leo asked him to help us and he did. And it nearly got him killed. He needs to go back to 2037 as soon as he’s awake. We can send him back in the jumpship. I think you’ve met my boyfriend--the Red Arrow. I sent him to look after you and little me when Zoom showed up to the party.”

Len decided to join the conversation. “Anyone want to explain what I’m missing here? And why don’t I know about  **_Dickie_ ** if our Laila has already met him?”

Lisa rolled her eyes and said, “He’s a boy that Laila met at camp over the summer. She wrote to me every week about him.”

“I got letters from Laila while she was at camp, too. There wasn’t any mention of anyone named  **_Dickie_ ** in my letters,” he replied. He couldn’t help the accusatory edge in his voice. 

Lisa chuckled and said, “There are just things that you don’t tell your big brother, Lenny. Besides, it was just a little crush. I didn’t see a reason to mention it. I had my first crush on a boy around Laila’s age. He was the only kid in my class that I didn’t make give me their lunch money.”

Len shook his head and smiled wryly. Apparently, he could look forward to years of his sisters keeping secrets from him. 

Laila asked, “Where are Leo and Sofia?”

He said, “They went back to help with the metahumans. I didn’t get to ask Leo before he flew out of here. Where’s Mateo?”

Lisa’s back straightened at the mention of her youngest (future) child. Len had filled her in about everything that happened when he and Barry went back to his house for the night. She was undeniably impressed by her son’s bold choice of trying to steal from Lenny. It’s what she would have done if given the chance. To be the best, you had to beat the best. And for her money, there was no better thief than her big brother--even if she would never tell him that. There was no need inflate his ego anymore than normal. 

Laila was grateful to drop the conversation about her connection to Dick. She was conflicted enough and didn’t need to hash it out with her older siblings. She said, “Well, that’s sort of complicated. They aren’t on our Earth anymore. Leo had to make a difficult decision tonight when Gideon told us about a breach opening near S.T.A.R. Labs. Ultimately, he chose to send Mateo and the twins to Earth-3. We have a family friend that lives there. She’ll look after them until we take care of Zoom…”

Len had a theory as to why Leo would send the kids to Earth-3 and it made that knot in his chest begin to tighten all over again. 

Lisa asked, “The twins?”

Laila looked at her older brother. She knew that Mattie had spilled the beans about Donnie and Dawn--to Leo’s utter annoyance. She grinned mischievously. “They’re Lenny’s kids.”

“Lenny is a daddy?” Lisa asked with a big smile. She looked at her big brother with wide eyes. He had always been staunchly against the idea of passing along Lewis Snart’s genes. 

She nodded. “The very best daddy.”

Len didn’t know how to address any of that. He was still reeling from when Mateo mentioned the twins earlier at his house. He asked, “Did you learn anything useful while you were risking your life to fight Zoom?”

Laila huffed out a laugh. “I love how you can simultaneously ask me a question and offer a recrimination, Lenny. Yes, I did learn something important from my encounter with Zoom. The nanite serum we brought from 2037 affected him. It wasn’t enough to take away his speed completely but it noticeably slowed him down. I think a higher dose would strip him of his powers completely--for a time. The downside is that we don’t know how long it would last and it would really piss him off. The other good news is that the nanites should have embedded themselves in Zoom’s fatty muscle tissue. We will be able to track him the next time he comes through the breach.”

Len considered the new information carefully. His cold gun could help slow the speedster down even more. However, the Flash would have to be well out of the way or he’d be caught in the crossfire. There was also the little matter of Zoom being better prepared next go round. He knew that they had a serum that could work on him and he would be expecting it. Laila’s powers would allow her to deliver the dose without getting close but he wasn’t willing to put his sister in danger again. Zoom might decide to kill her straight away instead of toying with her next time.

Lisa folded her arms when she realized that Len was planning in his head. She said, “I don’t care what you learned. It wasn’t worth letting that freak nearly strangle you to death.”

“He wasn’t really trying to kill me, Lisa. He was more interested in my identity. I think he was caught off guard because he didn’t recognize me. Zoom thought that he knew all of the Flash’s allies because he’d spent so much time stalking him before turning up at S.T.A.R. Labs to infiltrate the team.”

Lisa huffed and her hand went absently to her throat.  “I saw the marks on your neck, Laila. I'm the one that got you into that hospital gown.”

Laila noticed the unconscious movement and said, “I’m sorry. I didn’t meant to make you worry about me. I know that this is new for you. Older you is used to me throwing myself into danger.”

Lisa frowned. “I can’t believe that I like it any more in the future than I do now.”

“No, I wouldn’t say that you like it but you trust me more. You watched me grow up and train. You know what I’m capable of doing to protect myself. I’m sure Dr. Palmer thought I looked helpless but I was not. I broke Zoom’s fingers with telekinesis and he dropped me. I could have done the same with his leg or an arm if I thought he was truly about to kill me.”

“You let him choke you?” a voice came from behind them. 

Laila turned around with wide eyes. She leaned down and wrapped her arms around the man. “Dick! I’m so glad that you’re okay.”

Dick wrapped his arms around Laila and hugged her. “Don’t avoid the question, Laila.”

“He hurt you,” she whispered as she rested her forehead against his. “He doesn’t just get to walk away from that.”

He whispered, “You’re going to be the death of me and not in a good way.”

Laila said, “I know. I’m sorry Leo shouldn’t have asked you to join us. You should be at home...safe.”

Dick shook his head. “That’s not what I meant. I’m where I want to be--where I should be. I can’t have you putting yourself in harm’s way for me like that.”

“You would do the same for me.”

He smiled tiredly. “Without a moment’s thought…”

Laila said, “I feel the same way about you, Dick. I know that you’re still recovering but if you try that male chauvinist crap with me I’ll punch you in the balls.”

“It’s not male being a chauvinist. Just because I know that you can take care of yourself, doesn’t me I’m going to magically stop wanting to protect you.”

Laila wore a long-suffering, but still fond, expression. 

Len had about a dozen questions but stopped when his earpiece crackled to life. 

**_“How are the two patients doing, Len?” Barry asked. He huffed out a hard breath as if he was running._ **

“They’re both awake and talking. How are things out there? Do you need my help?” Len wasn’t ready to leave Laila after what happened. However, the metahumans couldn’t be allowed to wreak havoc on his city for the rest of the night. 

**_Barry sighed in relief. He really couldn’t handle anymore people dying because of him. His missteps already kept him up at night. He said, “I am glad that they’re on the mend. We could use your help on clean up. Cisco and Wells have a plan that should knock out all of the metahumans from Earth-2. We just need to round them up once they’re unconscious and turn them over to the CCPD.”_ **

“I’ll be out there in a few minutes, Scarlet.” Len turned to look at his sisters. “I’ve got to go. Can you look after Lisa?”

Lisa said, “I don’t need to be looked after, Lenny.”

Laila grinned and said, “Sure. I think I am going to like the roles being reversed.”

He hugged both of his sisters and said, “Good. Keep her out of trouble please, Laila.”

The younger of the siblings huffed out a laugh. “I said that I would look after Lisa. I didn’t say anything about performing miracles worthy of a canonized saint.”

Lisa glared at both of them but there was no heat behind it. “I have my gold gun with me…”

Len chuckled and said, “And on that note, I’ll be on my way.”

Lisa watched her brother walk out of the room and then turned around with a mischievous glint in her eyes. “Now I think you said something about the two of you being exes. Spill…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leo S. Ramon/Firestorm (Lisa and Cisco’s son)  
> Sofia Dearden Queen/Firestorm (Oliver and Felicity’s daughter)  
> Mateo ‘Mattie’ Ramon (Lisa and Cisco’s son)  
> William Clayton Queen/ Red Arrow (Oliver and Samantha’s son)  
> Laila Cressida Snart/ Conductress (Leonard and Lisa’s sister)  
> Richard ‘Dick’ Grayson/ Nightwing (Bruce Wayne’s adopted son)  
> Don Joseph Allen/ Tornado Twins (Leonard and Barry’s son via surrogate)  
> Dawn Nora Allen/ Tornado Twins (Leonard and Barry’s daughter via surrogate)


	25. Fatherly Advice

**Central City--2016**   


 

After hours of fighting and mayhem, Central City was blissfully quiet once more. Zoom jumping back to Earth-2 was at once both disappointing and fortuitous. They all realized tonight that they weren’t ready for a real confrontation with him. Tonight he had just been testing the Flash. Unfortunately, the speedster hadn’t taken his cronies with him when he retreated to his Earth. The metahumans didn’t seem to care about their leader’s disappearance. They continued to wreak havoc on the increasingly snow-covered city. However, Cisco and Dr. Wells’ first large scale test of their dimensional tuning fork turned out to be a success. It took less than an hour to apprehend the unconscious metahumans. They were all now temporary guests of Iron Heights. Once Zoom was defeated, those guilty of lesser crimes would be returned to Earth-2. 

Once all of the Earth-2 metahumans were under lock and key, it was time for everyone to get medical attention. There wasn’t a member of their motley crew that wasn’t injured in a way that would affect their ability to fight Zoom if he were to reappear in the next few days. Rip Hunter and Leo spoke at length about how to proceed. Ultimately, they decided that everyone should take advantage of the advanced medical technology aboard the  _ Waveride  _ and the  _ Cyclone.  _ Everyone needed to be in top form because Zoom was sure to be return soon and he would give them his best shot. The speedster knew now that the Flash had allies that would stand and fight with him. He wouldn’t be alone with only his team for support back at S.T.A.R. Labs. 

Everyone split up into random groups and descended on the two time ships stationed on opposing sides of Central City. The locations of the timeships made quick travel between the two of them inconvenient. However, they couldn’t risk Zoom returning and stumbling across that sort of advanced technology. The madman would be able to rip their timelines apart before they ever truly began. Moreover, it wasn’t likely that he would limit his destruction to just the lives of his enemies. Earth-1’s past and future would be his for the taking. They already had a deranged world killer to be worried about--Vandal Savage. 

Len opted to return to the  _ Cyclone _ to get his injures treated. It was his timeship after all--he learned that little tidbit from Rip Hunter earlier in the evening. When everyone was in better shape they would all reconvene at S.T.A.R. Labs to strategize. Len knew now that fighting Zoom alone was a fool’s errand. The speedster would undoubtedly continue enlist the help of metahumans...perhaps even the ones from Earth-1. Zoom would have an army at his beck and call and therefore the Flash would need the same. Zoom might have the advantage of numbers but Len would wager that they had the advantage of skill. That could make all the difference in a fight.

Leo walked onto the bridge wearing dark denim jeans and a gray cable knit sweater. He had a few cuts and bruises on his face but other wise he was the picture of health. He spotted his uncle sitting in the captain’s chair wearing a frown. Leo stuffed his hands into his pockets and walked over to him. “Why haven’t you been to the infirmary?”

Len looked up at his nephew with a tired smile. He looked every moment of his 43 years right now. The night’s fight and the stress of the last day were taking its toll on him. Len never cared about riding into danger but he didn’t like when the people he cared about were in danger, too. Apparently, there were drawbacks to having a great life--he had more to lose now than he ever did before. He raised an eyebrow. “I could ask you the same thing.”

Leo shrugged and sat down heavily in a nearby chair. He ran a hand over his mussed hair that was still wet from a shower. Leo said, “I’ve had worse. Besides, I want to know that everyone else is okay first. Where’s Mom?”

Len nodded. He was hanging back for the same reason. His rib was probably fractured but he’d had much worse over the years and he wanted to know that everyone else was on the mend. He said, “She was fussing over Laila the last time that I saw her. Don’t worry. We sent little Laila over to the  _ Waverider _ with your old man. She was asleep anyway. She’s been asleep for most of the night. That kid can sleep through just about anything.”

He chuckled. “Well, I’ll try to steer clear of Mom since she’s carrying me around. It’d be great if we could make it through the night without ripping a hole in the fabric of time because of a metacrisis.”

“Laila mentioned that you sent Mattie and the twins to Earth-3.” Len said.

Leo nodded slowly. “It’s just...safer if they’re not here.”

“You don’t have to sugarcoat it, kid. I already talked to Barry. He thinks your plan of removing them from the timeline might just work if anything were to go wrong here. It was a smart decision.”

“It was a hard decision…”

Len grimaced but replied, “The important ones always are, Leo.”

Leo nodded and said, “I needed to know that Mattie and the twins would make it no matter what happens here.”

“I can’t imagine that went over well with your brother. He seems…”

Leo chuckled quietly. “He’s not one to ever run from a fight. He’s rebellious, reckless, Snart-like…”

Len smiled and nodded. “Yeah, I was thinking all of the above. Frankly, I’m surprised that he agreed to go.”

“I just told Mattie that the twins needed him. Snarts always take care of their own. If I can’t be there then it’s up to him. He’s reckless and a pain in my ass but I know that he’ll take care of Dawn and Donnie,” Leo replied. 

Len couldn’t help the feeling of pride that welled up in his chest. There wasn’t even a dark corner in Lewis Snart’s soul where anything akin to honor could have hidden.  _ Snarts take care of their own  _ was something Leonard started and it was good to know that the younger generation believed in it as well. 

Mick walked onto the bridge snacking on a bag of chips. He eyed the younger Snart but had a seat without saying anything. Mick had been one of the first people that Gideon treated because his skin had been riddled with thorns from some plant-like metahuman he fought. 

Leo didn’t take offense at Heatwave’s cautious behavior disguised as aloofness. He’d grown up around the man and knew that he didn’t trust anyone quickly. 

Len said, “Barry and I have been talking and...we’re wondering how much our future selves knew about the past or the current present. I just can’t believe that even once you and Sofia became Firestorm that Barry and I didn’t figure it all out.”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. Sofia and I figured it out by accident once we were in 2016. Everything started lining up. For one reason or another, we always come back to this year to make sure that you and Uncle Barry fall in love. Although, I suppose that you two did make a habit of retelling me the story over the years. Maybe it was your way of making sure that I didn’t forget it for the moment when it mattered most. It’s not like you could say  _ ‘Hey, kid. The morning after your 21st birthday you’re going to have to go back in time to kidnap us’ _ . That would be weird even for our family.”

Mick snorted. 

Sofia walked onto the bridge fresh from a shower. She hadn’t been injured at all during the fight because she was merged with Leo. He took all of the physical damage from the fight. She asked, “Have you seen my brother, Leo?”

He shook his head and said, “No. Did you try him on comms?”

She tilted her head and asked, “What do you think?”

“Maybe he went to the  _ Waverider _ with your dad.”

Sofia frowned and said, “Maybe I should head over there and check on him. He’s probably sulking because of...you know.”

Leo groaned. “Was she supposed to leave him on the roof to die?”

“Of course not but you know how he gets about Dick and Laila,” she replied easily. 

He rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I know. Why can’t everyone be like us? Blissfully happy.”

Sofia laughed and sat on his lap. She sighed and said, “This is going to blow up into being a thing...I can feel it. You know how jealous Will gets. We don’t even have my dad and Bats here to break them up.”

Leo said, “Well, your dad is here but he’s probably two or three years older than William right now. He’s not really going to have much gravitas.”

“I’d suggest a fight to the death but we need both of them,” she joked.

Lisa walked onto the bridge with Barry. Her face lit up when she saw Leo. Her hand automatically went to her stomach in awe. The grown man sitting across the room was her baby boy. 

Leo looked up when he heard loud voices headed in their direction. He said, “Maybe Will is already here and we just didn’t see him. There are a lot of places to hide out on this tub.”

Laila stormed onto the bridge dressed in her spare disguise. She looked at her nephew and asked, “Where’s my sword?”

Dick was hot on her heels. “You don’t need your sword.”

Len asked, “Why do you need a sword, Laila?’’

She huffed. “Because something needs stabbing. Leo Snart Ramon, I know that you are the one that hid my sword. Now cough it up.”

Sofia stood up so that Leo could stand. “What’s going on?”

In exasperation, Dick said, “Laila wants to hop the breach and go looking for Zoom on her own because Gideon thinks our tech would be able to track the nanites in his system on Earth-2.”

Len and Leo both snapped. “No!”

Laila rolled her eyes. “Well, I am really glad that I don’t take orders from any of you.”

Dick said, “I am not trying to order you around. I’m just saying that this is an unnecessary risk. Facing Zoom on his playing field is a bad idea.”

“Did you see what happened out there tonight, Dick? This Earth is as good as his playing field, too. I’m tired of waiting around for him to kill the people that I love. I am going to go stick sharp things into him until he realizes it’s a bad idea or until he dies. I’m fine with either outcome.”

Mick grunted. “I like her.”

Len frowned at his partner. “Not now, Mick.” 

Laila looked to her nephew “I want my sword.”

Len asked, “Why do you even have a sword? That’s an odd weapon for someone with your powers.”

Laila’s expression tightened and her lips pressed into a thin line.

Dick looked vaguely guilty but didn’t say anything. 

Leo rubbed at the back of his neck. “Uh….spoilers. Really big timeline altering spoilers, Uncle Lenny.”

Dick said, “Laila, we’ll figure it out. Don’t fly off the handle and do something drastic because you’re scared.”

Laila glared at him. “Again! You’re saying that I shouldn’t fly off the handle and do something drastic  **_again_ ** . How many times do I have to tell you that I don’t regret a day I spent with the League?”

Len felt as if all the oxygen left his lungs. “The League? As in the League of Assassins?”

William marched onto the  _ Cyclone  _ with a sense of purpose in his stride. He was liable to chicken out if he considered his next actions too carefully. He briefly wondered if this was exactly what his father had in mind during their clubby chat outside of S.T.A.R. Labs. It hardly mattered now because here he was standing on the bridge of the  _ Cyclone _ staring at Dick and Laila arguing with one another. William wasn’t even sure what they were arguing about because his heart was thumping loudly in his ears. He walked right up to Dick and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt as he kissed him.

All of the talking on the bridge came to an immediate stop as everyone turned to look at the two men with varying degrees of shock. William had tunnel vision when he walked onto the  _ Cyclone _ so he didn’t notice just how many people were milling around the room.

Leo muttered, “Well, that’s a thing that totally just happened. I owe Mattie $500.”

Sofia nodded as she stared in disbelief. “I owe him $250.”

They looked at each other with wide eyes. Leo said, “Oh, that little brat. He wouldn’t have made the same bet with multiple people if he wasn’t already certain of the outcome. I’m not paying him—the cheat.”

Sofia raised an eyebrow. “Are you going to welch on your bet? That’s hardly sporting of you, Leo.” She paused and then looked genuinely horrified. “Do you think this is what Mattie meant when he said that he knew more about all of us than he ever wanted to?”

Leo pulled a face and said, “Yeah. I’m definitely having a conversation with my precious baby brother after I bring him back to our Earth.”

Dick pulled back from the kiss and stared at William with a confused but hopeful expression.

Laila on the other hand was practically beaming. Her frenzied anger from a few moments ago apparently tabled for now. “I hope this means what I think it means.”

Len cleared his throat to remind them that there was an audience.

Laila looked around at everyone and then gave a laugh that was just a little hysterical. She said, “Maybe we should talk somewhere private. Our quarters would probably be best.”

William swallowed thickly and said, “That would be a really good idea, Laila.”

Dick nodded in agreement and followed the two of them out of the room.

Len looked at his nephew. “What was that?”

Oliver had arrived at the same time as his son. He replied, “Hopefully, me setting right something that I helped screw up in the future.”

Leo groaned. “Did you change something? You can’t be changing things. Sofia, tell your father that he can’t be changing things.”

Sofia bit her lip and shrugged. "I don't know...I want my brother to be happy. I always knew that something went wrong in their friendship. They went from being the three musketeers to Will and Dick being at each others' throats. He would just never tell me what happened."

Leo said, "I'm not against happiness. This actually makes Laila's time with the League make so much more sense. I never understood why she took off the way that she did. I am just worried about changing the future." He looked at his uncles. "We need to get the two of you in that cabin soon. We've been here too long and we're changing too much of the past and the future. I don't know what we'll end up going back to even if we do defeat Zoom."

Len said, "You have our word that the next time Zoom's metahumans strike...you can follow through on your plan."

Barry nodded in agreement. "We're still going to take the amnesia pill in the morning. Everyone else will remember tonight but we won't. They can help you prepare for Zoom while Len and I are at the cabin."

Leo relaxed a little. "Thanks..."

Len smiled. "I am glad that is settled. Now, someone can tell me why my baby sister joined the League of Assassins and how long she was with them."

Leo said, "Uh...."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leo S. Ramon/Firestorm (Lisa and Cisco’s son)  
> Sofia Dearden Queen/Firestorm (Oliver and Felicity’s daughter)  
> Mateo ‘Mattie’ Ramon (Lisa and Cisco’s son)  
> William Clayton Queen/ Red Arrow (Oliver and Samantha’s son)  
> Laila Cressida Snart/ Conductress (Leonard and Lisa’s sister)  
> Richard ‘Dick’ Grayson/ Nightwing (Bruce Wayne’s adopted son)  
> Don Joseph Allen/ Tornado Twins (Leonard and Barry’s son via surrogate)  
> Dawn Nora Allen/ Tornado Twins (Leonard and Barry’s daughter via surrogate)


	26. Retrograde

**Central City--2016**

 

Len woke up with a start from the strangest dream. He wouldn’t necessarily classify it as a nightmare but his heart was racing. Len tried to catch the threads of his dream but they seemed to slip through his fingers like water through a sieve. He moved to sit up but stopped short when he felt an exceedingly warm body curled around him. Len opened his eyes and looked down to find Barry Allen resting peacefully. The speedster’s head was resting over his heart. Len tried to ignore the wave of emotion that washed over him--but couldn’t. Instead, he brushed a few strands of hair away from Barry’s forehead so that he could see his face better. 

As he began to wake up more, he tried to move Barry off him. However, he shifted in his sleep and adorably tightened his grip on Len’s tattooed torso. The speedster might have been lanky but he was deceptively strong even while he was slumbering. Len gave up on trying to move because he belatedly realized that Barry had managed to tangle their legs as well. There was no way to get out of the bed without waking the kid up. Len just didn’t have the heart to do that right now. Besides, he was feeling a little hazy and wanted to figure things out before he woke up Barry. He was more prone to panicking than Len was.

The somewhat reformed supervillain closed his eyes and tried to figure out how the two of them ended up in bed together--not that he was complaining. It was just that if he’d finally taken that last step with Barry ‘Pouty Lips’ Allen, he damn sure wanted to remember every earth shattering detail. The last thing he remembered was driving home from Lisa and Cisco’s house. He immediately ruled out alcohol. There hadn’t been any at dinner last night because Lisa was a brat. She didn’t think it was fair for everyone else to have wine with dinner if she couldn’t have any. 

He also summarily ruled out any nefarious forces being responsible for his memory loss. Barry’s nemeses and his possible criminal enemies wouldn’t politely drop them off in his own bedroom after abducting them and wiping their memories. He was assuming that the speedster would be in the same state once awakened. Len glanced over at the clock on his nightstand because he couldn’t figure out what time it was. He had commercial quality black-out shades on the windows in his bedroom to block out the sun. Len’s chosen profession often kept him up until the wee hours of the morning, leaving him to sleep during the day. He couldn’t do that with the sun shining in his face. 

Len frowned deeply at the neon blue numbers staring back at him. Unless someone had screwed around with his clock, not impossible considering the circumstances, it was currently 17:45. There was no way that he’d slept the entire day away even if he had spent the entire night ravaging Barry Allen. Moreover, their phones should have been ringing off the hook. Everyone would have been looking for them hours ago. Len took a deep breath and pushed down the knot forming in the pit of his stomach. They would sort out whatever was going on but first he had to wake up the speedster. 

He carded his fingers through Barry’s soft hair. Len’s feelings went deeper than he would like to admit. He realized now that it had been that way for a long time. However, he wondered if they would ever get a moment to just enjoy whatever was developing between them. It always seemed as if something or someone was getting in the way. Len didn’t believe in cosmic signs but perhaps this was the universe trying to tell them something. He quickly shrugged off the morose thoughts plaguing him. They had more important things to worry about right now. He said, “It’s time to wake up, Scarlet.”

Barry grumbled and buried his face against Len’s chest. He tightened his hold on the older man’s torso once more as if his clutching his favorite teddy bear. He asked, “Are there waffles?”

Len chuckled deeply. He would never admit this to another soul but Barry was adorable. He pressed a kiss to the speedster’s forehead. “No, they aren’t any waffles but it’s time to get up.”

“Then I reject your premise,” he replied. He yawned and stubbornly refused to open his eyes or to let Len go. “You’re cool and comfy. Go back to sleep.”

He shook his head with a fond smile. “I would love to continue lying here with you, Barry. But we need to get up. Something important needs our attention. However, if we aren’t in the middle of some sort of diabolical plot I promise to make you pecan waffles.”

Barry groaned and rolled onto his back. He scratched at his bare stomach as he reluctantly opened his eyes. Barry turned his head to the side to look at Len. He smiled goofily. “Good morning. Did you say something about pecan waffles?”

Len quirked an eyebrow at the younger man and tried to ignore the fact that he was only wearing a pair of thin boxer briefs. “You skipped right over diabolical plot and went straight for pecan waffles?”

The younger man shrugged his shoulders and sat up against the headboard with a yawn. He said, “There is always some sort of diabolical plot. But I’ve never had pecan waffles…”

He sat up beside Barry and smiled fondly. He asked, “What do you remember about last night?”

Barry thought that was a strange question and gave Len a look that said just that. However, he took a moment to give it some thought because the answer didn’t come to him immediately. “Uh, we made a family of snowmen at Cisco and Lisa’s house. We said goodbye and then got into your car. Hey...”

Len nodded and gave Barry a smug look. “I may have mentioned the chance of a diabolical plot. It is almost 6 o’clock in the evening. We’ve lost about 20 hours of memories. That’s not something that happens accidentally.”

The speedster shot out of the bed and searched the room for his pants and cell phone. “That can’t be right!”

Len cleared his throat and motioned to a chair by the door. “I do believe your clothes are neatly folded up over there.”

Barry frowned and blurred over to the chair to retrieve his phone. “I wouldn’t fold my clothes after taking them off.”

“No, you wouldn’t. But I would...”

“Neat freak, Cold?” Barry asked with a smirk. He pulled out his phone and frowned at the screen. Len was right about the time. 

Len climbed out of the bed and asked, “A bit of a slob, Scarlet?”

“No,” he replied defensively. “Maybe a little,” he amended. 

Len walked over to his dresser and pulled on a pair of pajama bottoms. He stopped short seeing a yellow sticky note on his door. “This note is in my handwriting.”

Barry blurred across the room to peer at the yellow slip of paper as if such a small note would hold all of the answers. “What does it say?”

He read aloud, “Don’t panic. Go in the living room. Push play on the tablet.”

Barry looked at Len with raised eyebrows. “Well, that’s not ominous at all.”

Len shook his head. “I trust me. Even if someone forced me to write this note under duress I would have done something to warn myself.”

“Well, that’s somewhat comforting.” Barry walked over to the chair and got dressed in a flash. He said, “Let’s go find the tablet.”

Len opened his bedroom door and walked out to the living room. He spotted the tablet on his coffee table and immediately knew that it didn’t belong to him. There was another yellow sticky note next to the tablet that simply said:  **Watch Me** .

Barry sat down on the couch and picked up the tablet. He examined it closely and said, “This tablet is from S.T.A.R. Labs.”

Len had a seat beside Barry and put on his black rimmed reading glasses. He glanced at the sticky note. “I wrote this note, too.”

“Well, I guess we should follow your directions,” Barry quipped. He turned on the tablet and pressed play on the waiting video. 

_ When the video began playing, Barry and Leonard were sitting side by side on the couch. Both men looked exhausted and dirty. They were wearing their disguises but they were torn and stained with blood. The sun shining brightly in the background of the video indicated that it had been recorded early that morning.  _

**_Len:_ ** _ If everything has gone to plan, then we don’t remember anything after leaving Lisa and Cisco’s house last night. It is 10:20 AM and we have just taken an amnesia pill created by the Time Masters. The pill should wipe out the last 12 hours of our memories--give or take. It may seem like an extreme measure but it is necessary. _

**_Barry:_ ** _ Last night, we ran into a time traveler that exposed us to an incredible amount of foreknowledge. This knowledge would change how we behave and react in an upcoming situation. There is a chance that it could change the future...our future. And people that we love will suffer and die. Our continued ignorance is the only way to protect everyone from the oncoming threat. However, everyone else knows what is going on and they will not take the amnesia pill. _

**_Len:_ ** _ We stayed at S.T.A.R. Labs last night to help everyone come up with three contingency plans. Under no circumstances will anyone reveal any portion of these plans to us until a predetermined date.  _

**_Barry:_ ** _ I’m sure you can tell from our disguises that we fought last night. Zoom opened a breach and sent over a couple dozen metahumans to cause trouble. He also made a brief appearance but was chased back through the breach after being injured. The rest of the metahumans were rounded up and are locked up in Iron Heights. There were some injuries but Gideon treated everyone.  _

**_Len:_ ** _ I know that we’ll both be tempted to investigate what is happening but the consequences could be Lisa, Mick, and Oliver Queen dying. We have to trust that everyone else can pull their weight for the time being. We can’t risk knowing any more details because as time travelers we may begin to remember bits and pieces of last night even with the amnesia pill. Trust that this is necessary and stay vigilant. Zoom has been watching us. _

Len stared at the screen even after it went black because the only part of this that made sense to him was doing anything in his power to save Lisa and Mick’s lives. However, he didn’t understand how forgetting last night would accomplish that. If Zoom was coming for all of them, then he should be helping them prepare. However, he trusted himself more than anyone else. If he was warning himself away then he would abide it. 

Barry swallowed thickly and said, “I’m sorry.”

He turned to look at Barry and realized that the younger man was near tears. He reached out without thinking and cupped his cheek. “What are you sorry for?”

“This is my fault. Zoom is my problem and I am dragging everyone down with me. People could die because I can’t beat him. He has been a step ahead of me at every turn. I don’t know how to stop him. He’s stronger than I am. He faster than I am.”

Len wiped away the stray tear that slid down Barry’s face. “I know that you like taking the weight of the world onto your shoulders. But this isn’t your fault, Scarlet. There are a lot people that love you and would gladly fight at your side without you ever needing to ask. I’m one of those people. Zoom has been a step ahead of you because he had a head start. That’s over now. Maybe he’s fast but you’ve been working your ass off to be faster. Maybe he can fight better than you can but you can learn. I can teach you. Self-defense isn’t a bad skill to have.”

Barry choked out a laugh. He tried to ignore the part where Len said that he was one of the people that loved him. Neither of them were in the right frame of mind to fall down that rabbit hole. He said, “Now you sound like Oliver.”

He rolled his eyes. “Well, that is one thing that Queen and I can agree on...your safety. You’re not alone anymore, Barry. I know that Zoom likes to move through the shadows like the bogeyman but you don’t need to fear him.”

“Are you going to be my nightlight?” Barry teased. He wiped at his eyes with the back of his hand. He couldn’t believe that he actually cried in front of Captain Cold. Then again, he supposed that Len had stopped being  _ Captain Cold _ to him some time ago.

“If that’s what you need,” he replied in a quiet voice. 

Barry cleared his throat. “What I need right now are pecan waffles.”

Len drew his hand away from Barry’s face with a grin. “Really?”

He nodded. “I haven’t eaten in hours. I’ve got to reload soon or...it’s bad news.”

Len stood up with a nod. “How many waffles should I be making?”

Barry blushed. “A lot?”

He chuckled lowly and then smiled at the younger man. “I’ve made breakfast for the Rogues before. I can handle one hungry speedster. Maybe you should call everyone to let them know that you’re okay. They’ve probably been waiting on us to wake up.”

“Oh! That’s a good idea,” Barry said. He picked up his phone to call Cisco but stopped short. “Just how many Rogues do you have?”

Len smirked and said, “Less than 20 and more than 5.”

Barry’s mouth gaped as he watched the older man walk into the kitchen. He wondered how that was even possible with Len traveling with the Legends’ crew. Although, he had noticed Lisa and Shawna with their heads together a lot lately. 


	27. Fiasco

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to take a moment to apologize to everyone for my prolonged absence. I fell ill for awhile and just didn't have the energy to even think about writing. I am finally feeling better and I am trying to get back into the swing of things. I hope that you will all stick around for the rest of the story.

**Central City--2016**

 

Leo bent over at the waist and gasped harshly as he tried to catch his breath. Sweated dotted his brow and soaked through his t-shirt. He slowly stood up and made the time-out gesture. “Let’s take five…or ten. Yeah, ten sounds much better. Let’s take ten.”

Laila laughed at her nephew and walked over to her gym bag. She pulled out a water bottle and took a couple large gulps. Then she slowly slid down to the floor and grinned at him. “You really should be in better shape than I am, Leo. Joining the Time Masters has made you soft around the middle. We should start training together again so that I can whip you back into shape.”

He crossed the room and sat beside Laila. Leo reached over and swiped her water bottle and drank the rest of the contents. He leaned his head against the wall and relaxed as his breathing slowly returned to normal. Leo bumped her shoulder with his and asked, “Would you believe that I was taking it easy on you? I mean you did face off with Zoom last night.”

She huffed out a laugh. “Not on your life, kiddo. Snarts don’t believe in taking it easy on anyone--and that applies doubly to family. You better not let Lenny find out that you’ve been lax in your training. He’ll torture you back into shape with daily 3 mile runs and bruise causing sparring sessions. It’ll be amusing for me to watch but hell for you to go through and Lise won’t be able to save you. Lenny is your captain after all.”

Leo snorted and handed Laila the empty water bottle. He said, “Don’t remind me. He’s already going to string me up because I swiped his time ship without giving him a heads up. I also let my little brother kidnap his kids. I’m batting .1000 right now. Hopefully, he’ll agree with the reasons even if he doesn’t like the methods.”

“Lenny is pragmatic. He’ll get over whatever annoyance he has with being out of the loop. You’re here putting everything on the line for the family. He won’t brush that off, Leo,” she replied. 

He shrugged. “Maybe…”

Laila returned the bottle to her gym bag and rested her head against the wall. She asked, “What's going on with you and Lenny? He’s noticed that you’ve been distant lately. He asked me if I knew what was going on with you before all of this. Of course I’ve been on back to back missions for A.R.G.U.S. so I haven’t exactly been around enough lately to know if something was wrong. Anything you want to talk about, kiddo?”

Leo shook his head. He didn’t want to drag his aunt into this. He was well past the age of having someone act as a go between. “I think that we have enough on our plates right now. We’ll deal with 2037 when we get back there.”

She nudged him with her shoulder. “You know I’m not going to let this go now. What’s going on with you and Lenny? Did he say something stupid? He does that sometimes. He forgets that not all of us are automatons that can compartmentalize our feelings to a pathological extent.”

He raked a hand through his dark brown hair and shrugged. “Uncle Lenny didn’t do anything wrong. It’s not as if he made the decision to assign me to his crew. I just…”

“Ah. Not looking forward to being the captain’s kid nephew?” she asked. 

“It’s hard getting out of his shadow. I mean he’s Captain Cold. He’s a member of the Justice League. How am I supposed to live up to the legacy?”

She said, “You don’t have to live up to anything, Leo. You only need to be yourself.”

“Easy for you to say,” he quipped. He winced at how petulant he sounded. 

“You think I didn’t have the same challenges when I joined A.R.G.U.S.? I spent months wondering if they recruited me because of my familial connections to Captain Cold and Golden Gilder. I mean their identities aren’t exactly a secret like Batman or the Flash. People know that I’m their kid sister. I just had to shut out all of the outside noise and focus on my talents. I gave my all and I was rewarded for it.”

Leo nodded slightly. He’d never really considered what Laila went through in the early stages of her career. Her decision to join A.R.G.U.S. had been abrupt. Laila had returned from her time with the League of Assassins a mere month before she announced her decision. No one was overly pleased with her decision but she wasn’t someone easily swayed by the opinions of others…even if those opinions belonged to the people that raised her. 

Laila said, “I know that you aren’t looking forward to being Captain Cold’s nephew while on his ship. You are still new to being a Time Master and it is tempting to go it alone. Making your own name is nice but it means nothing if you get yourself killed in the field. Lenny can be a big jerk sometimes but there’s not a better person to mentor you, Leo.”

“Don’t say anything to him when we get back home. Please?” he asked. 

She shook her head. “I won’t say anything to Lenny but you should, Leo. He will understand. I promise. There’s not much he can do to change your circumstances but at least he won’t be in the dark. You know that he loves Mattie but you’re his namesake...his little mini-me. He was wrapped around your little finger long before you were even born. He broke out of Iron Heights for you.”

Leo gave her a look.

Laila smirked and put up a placating hand. She said, “Okay be broke out of prison to kill people. But he was killing those people for you and Lisa. Sometimes that’s how you show love.”

He shook his head and bit back a smile. “Since we are sharing our deep dark secrets...are you going to clue me in about what the hell happened last night?”

She grinned liked a Cheshire cat. “Are you sure you want to know about that, nephew mine?”

Leo looked ill and said, “Spare me the details. I don’t want to puke up my dinner. It was really good. I just need to know if I need to kick someone’s butt for breaking my aunt’s heart.”

Laila laughed and said, “You can rest easy, kid. My heart isn’t broken. It might be back in one piece for the first time in a very long time. Will, Dick, and I are really going to give our relationship a try this time around.”

“Well, that was sickeningly sincere. I just want you to know that your happiness cost me $500. I’m glad that Mattie’s on another Earth right now so that I don’t have to hear his smug gloating,” Leo playfully complained.

She raised an eyebrow at that. “Come again?”

“Man, if you weren’t my aunt I would insert an incredibly inappropriate innuendo right there. But you are my aunt and I’m not trying to scar myself anymore than I already have been. I made a bet with Mattie a couple of weeks ago. It turns out that he made the same bet with Sofia. The little grifter is $750 richer than he was 24 hours ago. That’s just the wagers that I know about now. I’d lay even odds that he made similar bets with Dick’s sister and brothers.”

Laila laughed heartily. “Only a sucker makes a bet with someone that can literally see the future. I might actually be a little ashamed of you right now. I can’t wait to see Lenny and Lisa’s faces when I tell them.”

Leo rolled his eyes. “In my defense, it didn’t seem very likely that you would end up in a poly relationship with Dick and Will. I figured the three of you were way too boring to get up to something that interesting. Besides, I thought they hated each other. Now I find out it was just some sort of repressed attraction thing.”

“Boring? I am not boring, Leo Snart Ramon,” she declared. 

Leo sprang to his feet agilely and laughed. “It is okay that you are boring, predictable, stable, trite, prosaic, stagnant.”

Laila jumped up and raced across the gym to catch her nephew. “I’m going to make you regret that fancy private school education,” she yelled.

Leo managed to dodge her attempt grab him. “Hey! We went to the same fancy private school! Are you getting forgetful in your old age? You’re getting pretty close to 30, aren’t you?”

She hissed like a snake and ran at Leo like a linebacker. She knocked him to the ground and pinned him there. She then proceeded to use her powers of telekinesis to make Leo slap his face with his own hand. “Stop hitting yourself, Leo. Stop hitting yourself.”

“Ow! Hey! Ow! Quit it!” he yelled. Leo laughed as he tried to move his head to avoid his hand. 

“Take it back,” Laila said with a smirk. She wasn’t even breaking a sweat. One hand swayed back in forth in mid-air willing Leo’s hand to continue slapping his own face. She looked every bit of her name ‘The Conductress’. 

Cisco walked into the gym with Lisa and they both just froze for a moment. “Should we be doing something?” the scientist asked. 

Lisa shook her head and smirked. “He probably deserved it.”

Leo looked across the room at the younger versions of his parents. He’d spent a great deal of time with them last night working on the contingency plans. “I’m your son. You’re supposed to take my side.”

Laila said, “He called me old and boring. Which means he’s calling you old too, Lise. We’re the same age right now.”

Leo’s eyes widened as he looked up at his aunt. “That’s just dirty pool.”

Cisco cleared his throat. “I’d just apologize now, son. Your death will be quick and painless that way.”

Leo took advantage of Laila’s split attention and flipped her off of him and onto the mat. He then sprinted out of the gym before she could recover. 

Cisco shook his head and said, “I’m headed back to the cortex. I’ll find our surprisingly fast son.”

Laila chuckled as she laid on her back. “He ran track in high school. He’s going to pay for that later.”

Cisco left the women alone in the gym. 

Lisa walked over to Laila and offered her a hand up. 

She smiled but hopped up without assistance. 

Lisa snorted. “Show off.”

Laila shrugged and smirked. “I can’t help that I have a flair for the dramatic. It’s something of a family trait, Golden Gilder.”

“Touche.”

Laila asked, “Were you looking for me or Leo?”

Lisa said, “Both. Lenny just made contact with me. He’s awake and doesn’t remember anything after dinner last night. He’s agreed to let this play out the way we’ve planned it.”

She raised an eyebrow. “That is so unlike him. I figured that he’d be over here interrogating everyone he could get his hands on.”

“Well, he’s going to be laying low with Barry so I assume he’s got other more interesting things to occupy his time,” Lisa said. She smirked devilishly. 

Laila snickered. “That makes a lot more sense.” She walked across the gym and collected her bag. Laila frowned when she turned around and saw Lisa’s expression. She smiled knowingly. “Today, the role of interrogator will be played by Lisa Snart. What’s on your mind, Lise?”

Lisa chuckled and sat down on a bench. She rested a protective hand on her rounded stomach. “Am I that transparent?”

“Well, I’ve had years of that look when you caught me sneaking in after curfew. And that time you caught Dick climbing out of my window,” she replied. Laila set her bag on the floor and then sat beside her sister. 

She scoffed. “Ugh, I really do become a regular mother, huh?”

Laila laughed and said, “Only if a regular mother teaches you how to conceal a razor blade underneath your tongue.”

Lisa smiled. “At least I passed on the classics. Never know when you might need a razor blade.”

“What’s up?” she asked with a fond smile. 

“What do you know about Rip Hunter?”

Laila eyed her sister and shrugged. “Everything and at the same time nothing at all. I’m never sure what is fiction and what is fact with him. It’s the way of most Time Masters. They limit their personal connections and they try to keep their pasts a secret. Why do you ask?”

“Do you trust him?”

She shrugged and said, “As much, I trust anyone that doesn’t have some variation of my blood running their their veins. He’s a selfish bastard but he wouldn’t hurt anyone on his team purposefully.”

Lisa hummed in thought. “But collateral damage…”

“What wouldn’t you do to save Cisco and your kids?” she asked. 

“Point taken. Lenny didn’t trust him but last night was the tipping point.”

Laila suddenly understood what her sister was getting at. “Now Lenny doesn’t know that Rip Hunter was letting his timeline unravel. But we can’t tell him the truth now because it might trigger the return of all his memories.”

“That’s what  I call a catch-22,” she quipped. “I don’t even know if we can risk telling him the truth after we take care of this Zoom problem. I’m assuming that in your time they’ve already defeated Vandal Savage. Telling Lenny the truth could make him abandon the mission. And who the hell knows what happens if we undo that? I just want to know how much danger Lenny is in if we don’t tell him the truth.”

“I get the concern but you don’t need to be, Lise. Sara Lance knows what Rip Hunter did. Trust me when I say that she will be watching him like a hawk from now on. He wasn’t just screwing around with our lives. He was going to let Oliver Queen die as well. Gideon’s updated simulations calculated that Laurel Lance would die fighting Zoom, too. I know that you haven’t had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with her yet but White Canary is not one to be trifled with.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leo S. Ramon/Firestorm (Lisa and Cisco’s son)  
> Sofia Dearden Queen/Firestorm (Oliver and Felicity’s daughter)  
> Mateo ‘Mattie’ Ramon (Lisa and Cisco’s son)  
> William Clayton Queen/ Red Arrow (Oliver and Samantha’s son)  
> Laila Cressida Snart/ Conductress (Leonard and Lisa’s sister)  
> Richard ‘Dick’ Grayson/ Nightwing (Bruce Wayne’s adopted son)  
> Don Joseph Allen/ Tornado Twins (Leonard and Barry’s son via surrogate)  
> Dawn Nora Allen/ Tornado Twins (Leonard and Barry’s daughter via surrogate)


	28. Madhouse

**National City--2016(Earth-3)**

****

Kara didn’t think that it was wise to leave a clairvoyant teenager to babysit a pair of pre-teen speedsters while she was at work. It would only be welcoming a newsworthy disaster. However, calling out sick just wasn’t in the cards. Ms. Grant wouldn’t believe any excuse Kara made up for even a second. The news maven had a keen eye and nothing escaped her notice. She had already pointed out that Kara was almost never sick or injured. The last thing that she wanted to do was attract attention to her adolescent houseguests. Therefore, there was only one option...she dropped the kids off at the DEO for Alex to watch. How much trouble could the trio get into in a secret base filled with highly trained agents and a shape-shifting Martian?

Kara and Jimmy walked into the DEO a little after 8 o’clock. Between the two of them, they were carrying a dozen boxes of pizza. They left work later than either of them had hoped but it was a busy news day. Maxwell Lord had made a huge announcement that kept them all chained to their desks for the majority of the day. Even when the inventor wasn’t trying he still managed to make Kara’s life difficult. Jimmy and Kara both stopped walking as they took in the carnage surrounding them. There were overturned tables and chairs all over the room. Folders marked classified were scattered across the floor and marred by shoeprints. Kara would have sprung into action if it weren’t for Mateo sitting calmly in the middle of the chaos wearing a pair of earbuds. She could hear some form of rock music pulsing from where she stood.

She was about to approach the boy to inquire about the state of things when Alex walked into the room. Her hair was sticking up at odd ends and she was covered in what one would hope was chocolate. Kara dashed across the room after putting the pizza boxes on a table. She grasped her sister about the waist because it looked as if she might crumple to the ground. She righted a chair and helped the older woman sit down. “What’s going on, Alex? Was there an attack on the DEO?”

Alex shook her head and said, “No, there wasn’t an attack. We will call it more of a tactical oversight. I left the twins alone with Agent McCaffrey. He must not have any siblings or younger cousins. If he does then he certainly has never been asked to watch them for any length of time. I told him to find out what the kids wanted for dinner and to go pick it up. The twins said that they wanted donuts and chocolate milkshakes. He went out and bought four dozen donuts. They managed to eat two and a half dozen before I realized what was happening. Unfortunately, by that time it was too late. They were on a sugar high and as you can see…chaos ensued.”

Jimmy’s eyes went as wide as saucers. “He seriously thought it was a good idea to feed two pre-pubescent speedsters donuts and milkshakes?”

Alex nodded numbly. “We sent everyone else home because the twins have been bouncing off the walls ever since. Mateo warned me to just let them run it off outside for a few hours but Hank didn’t want the dual streaks of lightning bringing attention to the base.”

Kara winced in sympathy. “Not good.”

“Very not good,” Alex agreed.

Kara rolled up the sleeves of her cardigan. “Where’s the last place that you saw them, Alex? I’ll round them up and take them back to my place. I’m sorry about this. I will just take some time off work.”

Alex shook her head and smiled tiredly. “You don’t need to worry about it. I called in reinforcements hours ago. I know when I’m beat.”

Jimmy looked puzzled. “Reinforcements? What like the army?”

Alex laughed. “Not quite. She’s more of a specialist. I called Mom.”

Kara choked out a laugh. “You called Eliza? And she actually came?”

She nodded without a hint of shame on her face.

“It’s the Cooper kids all over again,” Kara exclaimed. She covered her mouth as she laughed heartily.

Jimmy asked, “Who are the Cooper kids?”

“Four little spawns that Alex used to babysit as a teenager. They locked her out of the house one time by pretending that the youngest had sneaked outside. She had to go to a neighbor's house to call our mom.”

Alex laughed quietly. “Mom drove over there in her pajamas. She gave them until the count of ten to open the door. The door was open and they were apologizing before she even made it to five.”

Kara shook her head. “I don’t know how I will repay you for this, Alex. I just didn’t think it was a good idea to leave them alone.”

“Well, you were right if this evening was anything to go by. Although, I don’t think Mateo would have fed them as much sugar as McCaffrey did. He had already warned me about giving them chocolate from the vending machine.”

“Where are they now?” she asked.

Alex said, “They are in the bunk room with Mom. She was reading to them when I left. They finally burned off the sugar and now they’re zapped.”

Kara squeezed Jimmy’s arm. “I’ll be back soon.”

He nodded and looked around the room. “I’ll help clean up some of this mess.”

She pecked his cheek in gratitude and then left the room. She navigated the maze of corridors until she reached the barracks like rooms the DEO maintained on base. They never knew when they might need to bunker down over night. Kara followed Eliza’s soothing voice until she found the right room.

Kara stood there silently and smiled as she watched Eliza.

The older woman was perched on a chair positioned between two bunks. Only a small light positioned on the wall above her head illuminated the book’s pages. The twins had been tucked in and looked close to falling asleep. Eliza looked up when she heard Kara’s footsteps and smiled without missing a word on the page. Her voice was gentle and perfectly suited for lulling two young ones to sleep.

Kara silently mouthed. “Thank you.”

Eliza nodded in acknowledgement. She read quietly, “‘ _ What makes you special little maiasaura,’ said it’s mother ‘isn’t your ferocious teeth or long neck or pointy beak. What makes you special is that of all the dinosaurs in the big wide world you have the mother who is just right for you. And who will always love you. _ ”

Donnie and Dawn were both sleeping peacefully.

Eliza closed the book and turned out the light. Then she motioned for Kara to follow her out of the room.

Kara hugged Eliza and said, “Thank you so much for coming to help out with the twins. This all happened so suddenly and I asked Alex for help at the last minute.”

“It was my pleasure. I told Alex that I could stay for the week to help take care of Donnie and Dawn. They are amazing children. They are a little rambunctious but all children are at that age. Alex certainly was. Thankfully, she didn't have super speed.”

“Oh, I couldn’t ask you to do that,” Kara said as she adjusted her glasses. She felt guilty for putting her responsibility off on others.

Eliza smiled. “Well, I guess it is a good thing that you didn’t ask me. I want to do this and I have the free time on my hands. Besides, it gets a little lonely living in the big old house all by myself.”

A wave of guilt instantly washed over Kara. She hadn’t considered how alone Eliza must have felt now that she and Alex were adults. They still talked to her frequently and visited as much as possible. However, it wasn’t the same thing as having the girls living with her. “Thank you.”

“It’s my pleasure, Kara. How are you doing? Alex seems to think that you are worried about your friend and his family.”

Kara tugged at the sleeves of her cardigan and nodded. “I only met Barry once but he was great. He helped me defeat Banshee and Livewire. He also gave me some really great advice about being a superhero and other things…”

Eliza smiled knowingly. “Other things like James Olson?”

She blushed and nodded. “He encouraged me to go for it. James and I might still be dancing around one another if Barry hadn’t given me a very needed push.”

“It sounds as if Barry is a good friend.”

“He is and that is why I am so worried about him. His nephew, Mateo, didn’t give me very many details because he’s worried about the timeline going forward. What I do know is that Barry and his family are in a lot of trouble because a speedster from another Earth is targeting him. I feel like I should be doing something to help my friend. Barry pitched in here and he had known me for less than an hour. I mean the very first thing he did was catch me when I was falling from the CatCo building. I should be doing something.”

Eliza gently squeezed Kara’s arm in support. “You are doing something, Kara. As a parent, I would want to know that my children are safe. The twins and Mateo are safe here with you.”

Kara nodded in understanding.  She sighed, “I just wonder what could be so awful that you would send them to a different Earth to protect them. I guess my own parents have been on my mind since last night. There is a chance that there won’t be anyone to come back for them. Mateo said that they would only stay with me for a week. He’s just a kid himself and he’s preparing for a world where he’s going to have to raise his younger cousins.”

Eliza’s heart ached for her foster daughter. She knew the situation reminded Kara of her own past. If not for her time in the phantom zone, she would have spent her childhood looking after Kal-El. She smiled knowingly. “You want to go to Barry’s Earth to help him.”

She looked up at Eliza with surprised eyes. “I guess that I have been thinking about it. I know that I am supposed to look after Barry’s kids and his nephew. But if someone could have helped save my family and my world…”

The older woman stepped forward and took Kara’s face in both of her hands. She smiled, “I know you Kara Zor-El, you are going to worry yourself sick over this if you don’t do something. You’re a hero…you should go do what heroes do.”

“I wouldn’t even know how to get to Barry’s universe. Originally, he got here because he ran fast enough to open a breach between our worlds. He was stuck here for a time because he couldn’t get up to the speed again…” Supergirl stopped talking as something occurred to her.

Eliza chuckled softly. “I know that look. You have a plan.”

“No.” She bit her lip as she looked up at the ceiling in contemplation, “Well, I might have the beginnings of a plan but I am going to need help. Can you watch the kids for a couple of hours? I promise that I will be back soon.”

“Go. Everything here is under control, Kara. I don’t think the kids are going to wake up anytime soon. They’ve eaten dinner.” She added, “I fed them a real dinner. They could barely keep their eyes open by the time they were in their pajamas.”

Kara hugged her tight. “Thank you…for everything.”

Eliza smiled and watched as Kara ran off to kick start this plan. Then she walked back into the bunkroom to keep an eye on the kids.

Jimmy looked up when Kara entered the room. He was still in the process of picking up the files scattered by the twins with Mateo and Alex’s help. They had actually put a pretty big dent on the mess. He asked, “How are they doing?”

“Eliza got them to go to sleep. I don’t know how she did it.”

Alex smirked. “I think that might be one of Mom’s superpower. She was pretty good at getting you to go to sleep when you first came to live with us.”

Kara could still remember Eliza comforting her when nightmares disturbed her sleep. For the first few months on Earth, she would wake up screaming after dreaming about her planet exploding. “All of you should sit down and eat some pizza before it gets cold. I’ll finish cleaning up after I get back.”

James stopped picking up files and lifted an eyebrow at her. “Get back? Where are you going, Kara?”

She said, “I need to run an errand. I promise that I will be back as soon as I can.”

Alex looked vaguely concerned and shared a looked with Jimmy. She said, “Well, don’t worry about us. Everything is under control here now.”

“Thank you.” She went over to Mateo and asked, “Are you okay?”

He nodded. “I’m fine. I’m used to Dawn and Donnie making a mess. We call them the Tornado Twins. Usually, Uncle Barry uses his super speed to clean up after them. He’s going to owe me so much when we get home.”

“I am sure that your uncles will be really grateful for everything you’ve done for you cousins. They are going to be so proud of you.”

Mateo shrugged. “It’s sort of a family motto. Snarts take care of their own…”

He wasn’t really the person anyone trusted to be responsible with any regularity. Despite the difference in age, his family often lumped him in the same category as the twins. It was partly because he liked getting into mischief—a lot. However, it was also because Leo was his big brother. When you had a hero as a big brother, no one expected much from you. They left him to his own devices most of the time and he liked it. His mother was probably the person in their family that knew him the best. She encouraged his juvenile delinquency because she understood its impetus. Mateo could never hope to be as good as Leo was. He decided early on that he could be an amazing thief and carved his own path.

Kara said, “My family has a motto, too. It’s the symbol that I wear on my disguise.”

His smile brightened. He said, “I know…it stands for hope.”

“Yeah, it does,” she replied. “Listen, I have to leave for awhile but I’ll be back. Alex and Eliza will be here if you need anything but I’m just a call away if…”

He nodded. “Okay.”

Kara smiled at him and then walked out of the DEO. She changed into her Supergirl disguise and then took the sky. She ran the beginnings of the plan through her head as she flew. It wasn’t much but it was better than doing nothing.

She landed on a balcony with a thud. Kara smiled and waved at the couple eating dinner in front of the French doors.

Clark opened the door with a surprised expression. “Kara? What are you doing here? Not that I am not happy to see you. I am always happy to see you.”

“Sorry to interrupt but I need a favor. May I come in?”

He nodded stepped and back. “Sure…”


	29. Date Night

**Central City--2016**

 

****

Mick and Lisa had long called him a control freak. In the beginning, he would vehemently disagree with them. However, over time he began to accept that it was true. Len felt more comfortable when he was in control of a situation. He trusted his ability to get his team out of sticky situations. Therefore, sitting at home while something was brewing made him feel uncomfortable. His only solace was knowing that Lisa, Mick, and Sara were on top of the situation. He trusted them to manage whatever scenario convinced him to wipe his own memories. Moreover, he trusted them to ask for help if things suddenly spun out of control.

Since Len and Barry were sidelined until further notice, they decided to make the best of the situation. They were counting this night as their second date. Unfortunately, they we were stuck in the house since the snowstorm had made Central City grind to a halt. It meant that Leonard couldn’t impress Barry in the ways he had imagined. Instead, the thief was cooking primavera pasta with shrimp and all of the vegetables in his refrigerator. He could tell by looking at the snowfall that they would likely lose power sometime in the next few days. Leonard figured it was best to finish off the perishable food he had bought the other day. Moreover, Barry was still hungry despite devouring three stacks of pancakes a few hours ago. The speedster was curious about what he did last night to expend so much energy. Len had his own ideas about what happened judging by the aches and pains he felt.

Currently, Barry was sitting at the kitchen table browsing the music on Leonard’s laptop. He was wearing one of the older man’s hooded sweatshirts to keep warm. They were trying to find a happy medium between Barry freezing and Len burning up. His eyebrows furrowed as he made little annoyed sounds. Finally, he huffed, “I don’t know half of these songs. I mean I have heard of some of these artists but…”

Len chuckled from his place in front of the stove. He was letting the sauce simmer as he sautéed the vegetables. “I’m not surprised. I’d wager that more than half of those songs were made before you were born.”

“Cradle robber,” Barry teased. He went back to looking at the screen. Barry was almost certain that their music catalogs would have very little overlap. At least their movie tastes were similar. 

Len’s brows furrowed but he didn’t say anything in reply. The age difference had been on his mind since he spent the night in Barry’s childhood bedroom. Barry was legally an adult but he was still living the life of a young man. In comparison, Leonard had been living on his own since he was a teenager.  He couldn’t help but wonder if Barry would tire of someone so much older than he was.

The silence made the speedster look up once again. He noted the curious expression on Leonard’s face. “Hey, I was just teasing you. I didn’t mean it, Len.”

The older man smiled. “Yes, you did mean it but I’m not offended. The age difference isn’t really that important to me. Does it bother you?”

Barry was up and across the room in a flash. He quickly shook his head. “No, it doesn’t bother me at all. Age is…whatever. I don’t care. Honestly, I don’t even know how I will age because of the speed force.”

“What do you mean by that?”

He shrugged. “My cells don’t decay and replicate at the same rate that a normal person’s would. Caitlin hasn’t fully worked out the numbers but I’m probably going to live for a long time.”

“Well, that’s good. Isn’t it?” he asked. He thought back to when he saw Barry in the future. The younger man hadn’t changed very much.

Barry’s expression darkened. “I will definitely outlive all of my family and friends. One day I am going to be alone.” He didn’t need to bring up the fact that one day he would outlive Len as well. He shook his head and forced a smile. “But that will be a long time in the future so I try not to dwell on it.”

Len took Barry’s hand. “If there is one thing I know about you, Scarlet, it is that you pull people in like moths to a flame. Your family and friends might die decades before you do but you will never be alone. There will always be people that love and adore Barry Allen.”

He ducked his head in embarrassment. “I don’t know about that. Everyone loves the Flash but that’s not really me. I mean the Flash persona is part of me of course but only the best parts.”

Leonard cupped the speedster’s cheek and tilted his head up so that their eyes met. “Maybe you don’t know but I do. I might enjoy sparring with the Flash but I started falling in love with the perpetually tardy Barry Allen. When I discovered your identity I wanted to know everything about you. The more I learned about you, the more I grudgingly came to admire you.”

He flashed a mischievous grin and said, “Lisa said that you stalked me for weeks.”

The thief looked offended at Lisa’s description. “I wouldn’t call it stalking. What I did was more reconnaissance.” Suddenly, his face looked as if something occurred to him. He frowned and asked, “When did you talk to Lisa about that?”

Barry shrugged and walked back over to the table. He said, “Lisa and I talk from time to time. She is dating with my best friend after all. Sometimes I bring her lunch while Cisco is at work. I drop off dinner for her and Laila if we’re going to be working late.”

Len frowned because he wasn’t sure that he liked the idea of Barry and Lisa spending time together without him there. His sister was devious and could be downright dangerous when she was bored. He shuddered at the thought of what sort of plan she might have cooked up for the two of them. Lisa was definitely bored since the doctor ordered her to be on modified bed rest for the duration of her pregnancy. She and Iris West had already concocted the scheme that got all of them around a dinner table last night. “What else has Lisa told you?”

“It’s all been good stuff. She just wanted to let me know that you’re worth it. But I already knew that you were. I have seen the good in you for a long time, Len,” he replied with a sincere smile. Finally, Barry picked a song that he recognized by Fleetwood Mac.

The older man’s lips curled into a smile at the speedster’s admission. Leonard had a plan to escape Iron Heights almost as soon as he was incarcerated. However, he had elected to stay there for a few months to figure out his life. At the time, Leonard was being pulled in too many directions. He was a thief and that probably wasn’t ever going to change. It was too much a part of his identity. However, he also wanted to be someone that Laila could be proud to call her older brother. Sending Laila to boarding school wasn’t just meant to shield her from Lewis. Len and Lisa were trying to delay the day when their baby sister would find out about all the terrible things they had done. Len didn’t know how he would cope if one day those big gray eyes didn’t light up when he walked into the room. 

He knew that it wouldn’t be long before Laila learned the truth about him. His kid sister was smart. Laila was an excellent student and her IQ was off the charts. She would figure out how her siblings afforded her cushy lifestyle. She already knew that Len was Captain Cold and that Lisa was Golden Glider. 

However, he was most worried about Laila learning that he killed their father. Len still hadn’t figured out a way to talk to her about those things. He only hoped that his work with the Rip Hunter would somehow temper his misdeeds in Laila’s eyes. He still thought it was a cosmic joke that he was entrusted with this innocent person that loved him as much as her little heart could bear.

Len snapped out of his morose thoughts as he finished cooking dinner. He turned off the stove and said, “Dinner is ready, Scarlet.”

Barry stood up and then blurred around the kitchen.

Leonard was learning to stand still when Barry started whipping around the room. They had already collided with each other once. The speedster and thief had ended up tangled up on the floor.

When Barry stopped running, the kitchen table was set, the candles were lit, and there was a bottle of wine on the table. He grinned sheepishly when he saw Len’s expression.

Leonard chuckled and carried the food to the table. He had a seat and said, “Help yourself, Scarlet. I made plenty.”

Barry took Len’s words to heart and quickly piled the pasta and veggies onto his plate.

Leonard cut the freshly baked loaf of garlic bread in half. He slid half onto a plate and then pushed it over to Barry.

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome,” Len said as he shook out a cloth napkin and placed it over his lap.

Barry dug into his food with gusto and gave a happy little sigh. “Where did you even learn to cook like this?”

Leonard smiled as he poured himself a glass of wine. “I learned most of my recipes from my grandfather. He was a cook in the navy. He was always good for making hearty food in large portions. It didn’t matter if it was just the three of us having dinner together, the old man would cook as if he was still feeding an entire ship of sailors. I even learned a few things from Mick.”

The speedster nearly choked on his food. “Heatwave cooks?”

He chuckled. “Mick loves to cook. If I am honest, he’s probably a better cook than I am. He would always volunteer for kitchen duty while we were in prison. Of course they always shot down that idea because of his affinity for fire.”

Barry laughed and shook his head. “No. Letting an arsonist volunteer in the kitchen is probably the worst idea ever.”

Len nodded in agreement. “We usually got stuck on laundry duty. You can’t really get into too much trouble there. Besides, there was nothing for Mick to use to start a fire. Although, that didn’t stop him from finding a way.”

“Since getting my powers I have learned that nearly everything is flammable if you’re moving fast enough. You can’t imagine how many pairs of shoes I used to go through in a month. Cisco had to start making the shoes for my everyday life, too. He’s a lifesaver. I once set Felicity’s shirt on fire because I ran her to STAR Labs.”

He chuckled. “Don’t let Mick hear you say that. He’ll want a demonstration.”

Barry grinned as he considered doing just that. He knew the importance of the friendship that Leonard and Mick shared. Unfortunately, he hadn’t been able to spend very much time getting to know Mick—but he wanted to do that. Barry’s relationship with Lisa had been evolving since she moved in with Cisco. He had gone out of his way to support the couple’s relationship once he found out that she was pregnant. Barry had felt so guilty that Cisco felt that he needed to keep the relationship a secret. He had even spent some time with Laila. Barry just wanted to have good relationships with the people that meant the most to Leonard.

Leonard lifted an eyebrow at the devious expression on Barry’s face. It looked so out of place on him. He asked, “What’s that look for? Should I be worried, Barry?”

He shrugged his shoulders innocently. “I guess that depends.”

“On what?” he asked in amusement.

“How much do you think that Mick would like to see a fire started by a lightning strike?” Barry asked in a hopeful voice.

“Mick never turns down a good fire no matter how it was started. Why? Is that something that you can do?” Len had been away from Central City so much that he hadn’t seen Barry fight in a while. He wondered if the speedster had acquired some new abilities in his absence.

Barry nodded with a sheepish smile. “I’ve accidentally caused my share of fires while I was learning to throw lightning.”

He chuckled. “Now this is something I have to see.” He asked, “Do you want to try it in the backyard after dinner?”

Barry’s eyes lit up at the suggestion. He knew that it was ridiculous but Barry was really looking forward to showing off for Len. He said, “Sure…”


	30. Faster Than A Speeding Bullet

**National City--2016(Earth-3)**

 

****

Kara’s initial plan had been simple. She flew to Metropolis to ask her cousin for his help. She remembered how Barry was able to break through the dimensional barrier with her help. She figured that Clark would be able to generate a comparable speed and they could recreate the result. However, Clark had quickly shot down the idea. He didn’t know enough about dimensional travel and it sounded dangerous. He promised to help Kara but only if she consulted Winn. She was reluctant at first but ultimately agreed with Clark’s reasoning once he explained his point of view. If Kara wasn’t careful she could wind up stranded on the wrong Earth. She would be no help to her friends on Earth-1 that way.

A small group gathered in Winn’s lab at the DEO. The room looked like a junkyard right now. Artifacts seized by the agency were stacked on every available surface. Winn looked exhausted and he was covered in grease and any number of stains. The young scientist was standing in front of a massive transporting module that he had been working on for the last few hours. He took a gulp of his cooling coffee as the director closed the door to the lab.

J’onn motioned for the younger man to start speaking as he folded his arms across his broad chest.

Winn said, “Mateo explained to the best of his ability how his father is able to create dimensional breaches using his metahuman powers. On their Earth, they have found a way to create a device that mimics those powers. It would take me too long to fill in the holes of the science that Mateo doesn’t understand. However, J’onn mentioned that there might be a way to repurpose one of the alien artifacts in the DEO’s vault. I’ve been tinkering with the a transporting module all night. The module is capable of transporting several people across the galaxy. I think that I can enhance the power source so that it is capable of breaking through the dimensional barrier. The only problem is that we won’t be able to control where it sends Kara. She will have to map all of the alternate universes until she finds the right one.”

Clark frowned as he listened to Winn Schott explain the basic premise behind what they were trying to do. Frankly, it sounded like something out of a science fiction movie and this was coming from a man born on a different planet. However, he could see how determined Kara was to help her friends save their world. It was an admirable goal but it was also rooted in the legacy of their family. Clark had no memories of Krypton. However, he dreamed of his home planet and his parents that perished when it exploded. Helping Kara wouldn’t bring back all that they lost but it would stop three little kids from reliving his and Kara’s story.

Jimmy wasn’t on board with this plan at all. Repurposing alien technology seemed dangerous. Kara was at least willing to listen to his objections. However, she decided that this was something she needed to do and he reluctantly agreed to support her. He asked, “Uh…how many worlds are we talking about here?”

“There are 52 known Earths,” Mattie offered as he leaned against a metalwork table. He couldn’t help but to feel hopeful. He trusted that Supergirl would be able to help his family even if he couldn’t.

Jimmy whistled lowly. “That means there will be 51 that you need to search to find their Earth. It gives a whole new meaning to finding a needle in a haystack. That is going to take an incredible amount of time…probably more time than we have.”

Kara nodded and pushed her glasses up onto her nose. “Clark has offered to help me. We can cover more ground if we split up. Since we can fly, it will be easier to find Central City on each Earth. The only downside is that we can only fly at night. Flying during the day would draw too much attention if that Earth doesn’t have people with those capabilities.”

J’onn nodded, “You wouldn’t want to risk being shot down by the Air Force because they think you’re an enemy combatant. Or worse captured.”

Winn scratched at his head as he studied the specifications for the changes he would need to make on the module. He said, “If I work non-stop I can have the transporting module ready for a beta test in 24 hours.”

It wasn’t as soon as Kara would like but it was the best that they could do. She smiled and hugged her friend. “Thank you for doing this Winn. You are amazing.”

He shrugged bashfully. “Well, I liked Barry, too. I want his nephew and future kids to have a family to go back to when this is all over.”

J’onn said, “You will have all of the support help you need, Agent Schott.”

The younger man grinned. “Well, there is one thing that I am going to need…”

Jimmy’s eyebrows furrowed as he noted the look on Winn’s face. “Why do I get the feeling that I’m not going to like this?”

“I just need some help in acquiring a new power source for the module. It’s going to need to be something that produces a lot of energy. However, it will also need to be compact,” he swung his gaze to Alex.

The brunette woman had been silent this entire time but straightened when she realized that all eyes were on her. “What?”

Kara bit her bottom lip and asked, “Did you like having dinner with Maxwell Lord?”

Her eyes widened. “No. Well, maybe a little but mostly no.”

“We need a power source that won’t explode in our faces—literally. I don’t have enough time to create a power source and then rigorously test it. If anyone has something on hand that would fit the bill it would be Lord Technologies,” Winn argued.

Kara walked over to her sister and said, “Please, help us. If you do this for me, I will owe you for the rest of time. You will have control over movie nights in perpetuity.”

She groaned. It wasn’t fair for Kara to sucker her in with those big blue eyes. There was no way she would be able to say no to her little sister. “Okay. I’ll do it, but you have to throw in my favorite dessert.”

“Consider it done!” she promised. “I will ask Eliza to make it.”

Alex looked down at the black tactical suit that she was wearing. “I’m going to have to change. Come on, Kara. Let’s go see what we have tucked into the undercover ops closet.”

Kara suggested, “Maybe something backless…”

Alex stopped walking and lifted an eyebrow at her sister.

“I caught Max ogling you a few times,” Kara replied with a disgusted shudder.

The older Davers’ sister rolled her eyes in exasperation. “I want coffee and donuts every morning for a month, too.”

Kara nodded in agreement. “Yep…this is going to be a very expensive favor.”

“You bet your red leather boots it will be,” Alex muttered as she marched out of the lab.

“Oh! Boots…”suggested Kara as she rushed to follow her older sister.

Winn picked up a wrench and said, “Well, I should probably get back to making sure the transporter doesn’t beam Kara and Clark into the middle of the Phantom Zone accidentally.”

Everyone took that as the cue to give the wunderkind some space so that he could work.

Mateo asked, “Can I stick around? Maybe I can help.”

“Sure. Maybe you can get some vibes about this working in the future,” Winn joked.

Clark noticed Jimmy’s tense expression and followed him outside. “Are you okay?”

Jimmy looked at his friend with a tired smile. “Sure. I just needed some fresh air.”

The Kryptonian gave the photographer a pointed look. He knew Jimmy too well to be fooled by that lackluster excuse.

Jimmy sighed and said, “I’m just trying to wrap my head around the vastness of the universe. I thought that I had seen everything when I found out that you were from Krypton. Then Barry showed up last year from a different Earth. Now you and Kara are going to map the multiverse. It just all feels out of my control.”

“You are worried about Kara?” the reporter surmised.

He nodded. “I know that is ridiculous. Kara is obviously capable of taking care of herself. She saves the city on a daily basis.  I just care about her and I feel as if I should be doing something to help. If something were to happen on one of those other Earths…we might never find her.”

Clark could sympathize with Jimmy’s unease. He felt the same way when Kara originally asked for his help. “We aren’t going to lose her, James. If Kara was to go missing on one of the Earths…I wouldn’t stop looking until I found her. She is the only family that I have left in the world.”

Immediately, Jimmy felt guilty for voicing his concerns to Clark. Kara was his cousin after all. He was perhaps even more worried for her safety than Jimmy was. “I was never this worried about you.”

Clark squeezed his friend’s shoulder in support. He wore a mirthful expression as he said, “Well, we weren’t dating.”

Jimmy huffed out a surprised laugh. “I don’t know…I saw more of you than I have seen of Kara lately.”

“Still no luck on having a successful date?” he asked.

The photographer shook his head. “Our last date was interrupted by our Earth-1 guests. I suppose the only good news is that according to them, Kara and I eventually figure out this dating thing.”

Clark gave him a questioning look.

Jimmy chuckled a little. “Oh. Well, you know the kids are from Earth-1’s future. They know us in their time. On their first night with us, they let it slip that Kara and I are supposed to have a daughter named Astra in the distant future.”

Clark found himself somewhere between surprised and happy for his cousin and best friend. “I have faith that the two of you will find a happy medium at some point. Look how long it took for me and Lois to get it right.”

The photographer smirked a little. Watching Lois and Clark maneuver around each other for months had been like watching a comedy of errors. He had never seen two people so meant to be together be so terrible at dating…until now. “Thanks for the pep talk, Clark.”

“You are my best friend and you are dating my cousin. I only want the best for the both of you. You certainly deserve it,” Clark replied.

He had been surprised when Jimmy first admitted that he had feelings for Kara. He had assumed that his friend was on track for yet another reconciliation with Lucy Lane. Jimmy and Lucy had broken up and reconciled at least a half dozen times in the last few years. He always had a front row seat to both sides of the breakup since he was dating Lois. However, he knew something was different when he heard Jimmy talk about Kara.

At the time, Clark could tell that Jimmy was calling to ask for his permission or his blessing. He had readily given it despite assuring his friend that it wasn’t necessary. Their friendship wouldn’t change simply because Jimmy wanted to pursue Kara. Jimmy Olsen was one of the best people that Clark knew.

Alex walked out of the DEO dressed to kill in a backless little black dress and impossibly high heels. Her makeup was simple and highlighted Alex’s natural beauty.

Kara was hot on her heels with a big grin on her face. “What do you guys think? She looks amazing, right?”

Alex glared at both men. The last thing she wanted to do was sweet talk Max Lord. He had a few redeeming attributes. However, he could be a narcissistic creep as well. She never knew what version she would encounter.

Clark swallowed thickly at the heated glare from Alex. He tried to find a reply that wouldn’t result in a knee to his more sensitive bits. “Ah…you look great, Alex.”

Jimmy nodded in agreement. “Knock him dead, Alex.”

“See! I told you!” Kara insisted.

“You had way too much fun dressing me up like your own Barbie doll,” Alex argued.

Kara grinned mischievously. She wouldn’t admit it to Alex when she was this irritated, but this was a bit of payback. Her old sister used to get a kick out of dressing up Kara when they were younger. “Don’t worry. I’ll protect you from Max. I’ll be there the whole time.”

Alex patted her thigh holster and said, “I’ll protect myself.”


	31. A Snowball’s Chance In Hell

**Central City--2016**

 

****

Len and Barry enjoyed a full 24 hours before all hell broke loose in Central City. Frankly, Leonard had been waiting on the bottom to fall out from the moment he woke up missing a portion of his memories. However, he had reluctantly agreed to the harebrained plan obviously thought up by himself and Barry when they had the benefit of all their memories. Leonard knew that he would have never agreed to such drastic measures unless it was necessary. He had already surmised that time travel was probably involved somehow. Therefore, he wasn’t surprised when their phones began ringing incessantly while he and Barry tried to watch the last twenty minutes of  _ Goodfellas _ .

Both men grabbed their phones and moved to opposite sides of Leonard’s darkened living room so that they could hear properly. The older man frowned deeply as his sister rather breathlessly explained that metahumans were robbing Central City blind while law enforcement were either snowed in or responding to distress calls from citizens that were unprepared for the winter storm. Information was streaming in slowly to the command center that Team Flash, Team Arrow, and the Legends had set up at S.T.A.R. Labs. However, from what they could tell there were metahumans from their Earth and Earth-2 wreaking havoc on the paralyzed city. However, no one had heard a peep from Zoom—yet.

“We’ll be there as soon as we can, Lise,” he replied in a gruff voice as he ended the call. He was annoyed that metahumans from their Earth thought it was a good idea to loot his city. They would have never considered such a thing a few short months ago. However, Leonard knew that the old adage was true…while the cat’s away, the mice will play.

He walked down the hall to his bedroom while Barry was still on the phone. Len stripped off his comfortable flannel pajamas and dressed in layers to combat the freezing temperatures outside. He was a little concerned about Barry’s aversion to cold. He wondered what effect the weather would have on the speedster. Then Len shook his head as he pulled on a pair of insulated pants over his jeans. He knew that Team Flash was thorough. They wouldn’t send Barry out to fight if they didn’t already know how he would respond to the weather. However, Leonard would be sure to keep an eye on the kid—just in case.

Barry blurred into the room just as Leonard sat on the bed to lace up his boots. It took him less than a minute to flash into his suit. He helpfully grabbed Len’s parka and goggles from the closet. Barry placed them beside Len as he shifted foot to foot nervously. He asked, “Do you want me to carry you over there? The condition of the roads might make it too dangerous to take your motorcycle.”

Len smirked and said, “Don’t worry about me, kid. I have a snowmobile in the garage. I won’t get there as quickly as you will but it’s good enough. Besides, wouldn’t carrying an additional person throw off your balance on the icy roads? I don’t want to think about how a wipeout at those speeds would feel.”

Barry winced in sympathy. He had wiped out many times and it always hurt. However, the pain never lingered for long since he had a superhuman healing factor. Barry instantly wondered why Len had a snowmobile. He quickly decided it was probably better that he didn’t know. He nodded and said, “You’re right. I didn’t really think that through. Uh, I guess I will go ahead and leave. It sounds like they’re really shorthanded out here.”

The older man stood once he had properly laced and tied his boots. He walked up to Barry and gently grasped his cowl covered face. Len kissed him tenderly. Then he said, “Be careful out there, Scarlet.”

Barry’s knees might have buckled just a little but he quickly recovered. He grinned sheepishly and nodded. “You, too.”

Before Leonard could say anything else, he felt a breeze whip by as Barry zipped out of the house. He shook his head with a wry smile as he walked over to the bed to collect his parka and goggles. He pulled on his disguise as he walked to the living room to retrieve his cold gun. He always kept the weapon close when he was at home.

He clipped the gun to his belt and then headed to the side door that led to his garage. Len hit the switch to raise the garage door and moved over to the snowmobile. He had gotten it all prepped in anticipation of the blizzard. Len didn’t relish the idea of being stranded in his own home until the snow plows could clear the streets. If the city’s officials were smart they wouldn’t send the plows out until the blizzard had moved out of the area completely. That could take a day or two if the weather forecast was to be believed. 

He maneuvered the snowmobile out of the garage and then lowered the door. He climbed onto the snowmobile and started the engine. Len was glad that it started up with no problem. He popped in his earwig and then sped away from his house. The streets in the residential neighborhoods were as deserted as he had expected. It seemed that most of the city’s residents had the good sense to stay inside their homes. At least they wouldn’t have to worry about innocent bystanders getting caught in the crossfire.

Len was making good time to the rendezvous point when the streetlights dimmed and then flickered. He silently cursed because things would go from bad to worse if they lost power. He spoke into the comm. “Heads up, we might be losing power soon.”

_ The line crackled and Cisco replied, “Copy that, Captain Cold. We haven’t had any power surges out this way yet. But I will ping your GPS and track any other reports of power outages.” _

“Good. I’m about ten minutes out from the bank. You should call Hartley,” Len added. He pushed the snowmobile faster as the streetlights flickered again.

_ The scientist sounded offended. “Why would I call him?” _

Len bit back a laugh that was threatening to escape. He knew that the two younger men hated each other with a passion. He had sat through a number of Hartley’s long winded rants. He said, “Because I don’t think any of us want to be fighting metahumans in the dark. If there is a problem with the power grid Hartley might be able to do something about it.”

_ “It could just be ice and snow collecting on the power lines. There’s nothing even Hartley can do about that,” he argued. He sounded positively petulantly. _

“I’m sorry,” Len said politely. “I made the mistake of making that sound like a request. Call Hartley or have Lisa do it. But get it done now,” he snapped.

_ Cisco made an offended squawk. _

_ Lisa huffed out a laugh. “I’ll call Hartley now, Lenny. I asked him to be on standby just in case we needed his help.” _

_ “You didn’t,” Cisco gasped. “We’re talking about this later.” _

Len smirked to himself. There was a time when he couldn’t have imagined his sister with someone like Cisco. He was a good kid but Lisa usually liked the hard cases. He had developed an unsettling idea that she had been choosing men that reminded her of him or God forbid their psychopath father. Cisco was a pleasant departure once Len reluctantly came to terms with their relationship. Now he couldn’t imagine Lisa being with anyone else. She and Cisco were a perfect match even if he still liked to give the kid a hard time.

He started hearing the telltale sounds of fighting three blocks away from the bank. Len had to abandon his snowmobile a block away because chunks of debris littered the street. An explosion had taken out the front of a jewelry store. His lips curled in disgust at the complete lack of finesse. The idiots could have simply broken the windows. It wasn’t as if the police were going to be responding to burglar alarms in the middle of this blizzard.

Len unclipped the cold gun from his belt as he rounded the corner. His eyes were immediately drawn to the sky where the A.T.O.M. and a metahuman were fighting. He winced because it looked as if his teammate was fighting a losing battle. Len could see that the A.T.O.M. suit was damaged.

Fortunately, Kendra swooped in to save the day. She flew into the metahuman as if she were a linebacker. The force of the impact sent the man careening into the side of a neighboring building.

Len’s amusement was short-lived when he recognized Roy Bivolo in the middle of the fray. The bastard was trying to use his powers against the Flash. However, the speedster was deftly evading him for now.

The older man’s blood was practically boiling as he thought about the last time Barry had been influenced by Bivolo. Len hadn’t been present at the time but he heard about the fall out. When he freed Bivolo, Len had made the metahuman agree to leave the Flash alone. It seemed that Bivolo had forgotten many things in Leonard’s absence.

He marched through the fighting with just enough awareness to avoid being injured by the other skirmishes. However, his attention was almost solely on Roy.

Mick was trading blows with an Earth-2 metahuman that could shoot beams of energy from his hands. His clothes were signed from the fight and he had new burns on his skin.

Len iced the metahuman without even the barest of glances as he continued his march to confront Roy.

Heatwave gave a lopsided smile as the metahuman crumpled to the ground. He could see exactly where is partner-in-crime was headed. Mick wouldn’t want to be in that poor bastard’s shoes right now. He looked down at the injured metahuman and tried to figure out how to fit him with the power cancelling handcuffs.

The man clutched his frozen arm as he howled in pain. “I surrender,” he yelled at the large man looming over him.

Len kept walking until he reached Roy. He stood behind the man with his cold gun raised. He barked out, “We had a deal, Bivolo.”

The taller man spun around and nearly slipped on the ice when he heard Cold’s voice behind him. He should have known that Snart wouldn’t be far behind if Mick was there. He eyed the cold gun and quickly tried to decide how to play this situation. He grinned. “I thought that you were off saving the future or some such nonsense. To what do we owe the honor of your presence?”

Leonard wasn’t worried about Bivolo using his powers against him. Hartley had constructed his goggles to protect him. Leonard had never really trusted Bivolo—not that he trusted many people. However, he knew how to spot someone that lacked honor.  “It seems as if I’ve been gone so long that you forgot the rules. The Flash is off limits,” he growled.

He chuckled and said, “You don’t run this city anymore, Cold. No one is afraid of you anymore. We all know that you’ve switched teams.” His voice went high pitched as he mocked Snart. “You’re a good guy now.”

A dark laugh rumbled out of Leonard’s chest and his face twisted into an ugly sneer. The laugh became louder as he realized that Bivolo was trying to use his powers against him. “You really are as dumb as you look.”

The Flash sped toward the standoff between the two men. He was having déjà vu of the night that Snart killed Lewis. “Cold…”

Captain Cold pointed his gun at Bivolo’s feet and froze him in place. He slowly raised the gun so that the ice crept up the other man’s legs.

Bivolo let out an inhuman roar of pain as the ice bit into his flesh.

Len walked up to Bivolo and hit him over the head with the cold gun. The blow knocked the man unconscious. He looked at The Flash with a smirk. “Don’t worry yourself, Scarlet. I have the cold gun on its lowest setting. It won’t kill him. He’ll just have a severe case of frostbite. It’s the least he deserves for violating the one rule I gave him.”

The Flash asked, “Are you crazy? He could lose his legs! You can’t just ice people!”

Cold stepped closer and pressed his lips right up against Barry’s ear. “I would have killed Bivolo if he actually succeeded in hurting you. Consider this a compromise. Take the win, Barry,” he purred.

The younger man swallowed thickly and watched as Len walked away to assist White Canary with another metahuman. For some reason, it was suddenly very hot in his suit and cowl.

_ Cisco whistled lowly. “Wow…that was really dirty and yet not. Also, sort of terrifying. He’s got serious game. Would it be weird if I asked him for some tips? Yeah that would be weird. Disregard that last question.” _

Barry blanched when he realized that Len had spoken almost directly into his earwig.


	32. Time Loop

**Central City--2016**

 

Leo was bored. No, the word ‘bored’ did not properly describe the severity of the situation. Leo was going a bit stir crazy while they waited for the signal from Gideon. If there was one thing that Snarts hated, it was the thought of being left out of the action. Unfortunately, Leo and his team would continue to be sidelined for most of the evening. They couldn’t run the risk of bumping into Leonard or Barry again. Preserving their families’ timelines hinged on tonight following the same path that it always had. Even a seemingly insignificant difference could cause a time aberration.   

As if not being out there helping their families wasn’t bad enough, Leo’s team was also stranded inside S.T.A.R. Labs. They had stashed their time ship well outside of Central City. Leo had to prevent Zoom or one of his cronies from discovering it accidentally. Being at S.T.A.R. Labs wouldn’t have been so bad if not for his mother. Leo loved her as much now as he did in his own time. However, Lisa was protective and intuitive when it came to her eldest son. It didn’t matter that she had only known him for a day. Lisa knew that something was wrong with her son and she was determined to help him.

“Mom,” he protested.

He was standing in STAR Lab’s breakroom eating his third turkey sandwich. Lisa had insisted that Leo keep her company as she made sandwiches. She had also insisted that he eat several of those sandwiches because of his increased metabolism. Leo had looked to his father for help but Cisco had merely smiled sympathetically before returning to the cortex. He and Felicity were running point for the support team after all.

Lisa pointed a knife in his direction. “I know that something is wrong. You need to be clearheaded if you are going to pull off this charade without a hitch. Contrary to popular belief I am an excellent listener when I care about someone.’

“Nothing is wrong. I am just a little anxious. That’s all,” he tried.

Lisa gave her son an unimpressed look. She replied, “You can fool some of the people some of the time. However, you can never fool your mother. You are wearing that same brooding look that Lenny always gets whenever something is stuck in his craw. If you are anything like your uncle, you will keep obsessing over it. What’s wrong?”

Leo huffed and sat down at the ghastly bright yellow table at the center of the room. He said, “I am worried about Mattie.”

She tensed at the mention of her younger son. Lisa really wished that she had been given the opportunity to meet him. However, she understood that their Earth wasn’t safe for him. If the worst happened and Zoom managed to kill her, she wanted to know that both of her sons would survive. Lisa wasn’t exactly ancient but at least she had the opportunity to live. She wanted the same thing for them.

“I thought you said that this…Supergirl would be able to protect your brother and cousins,” Lisa said.

Leo quickly reassured his mother. “Oh, she can. The girl of steel is perhaps one of the most powerful people I have ever met. I trust her to protect Mateo and the twins. I just…don’t like things being out of my control. I’m his big brother. I should be the one protecting him.”

Lisa huffed out a laugh as she went back to making sandwiches. “I was right. You’re just like Lenny. My big brother has always been such a control freak. The thing you have to remember is that depending on other people is necessary sometimes. Lenny has always been a great thief but he pulled off his best jobs when he was working with a solid team. You were wise enough to delegate an incredibly important responsibility to another team member. You are a good big brother, Leo. I am certain of that.”

His lips twitched into a smile. Of course his mother would use a heist to make her point. Leo had always appreciated that Lisa never shied away from their family’s dubious past. She was proud to have been the villainous Golden Glider. Lisa always said that all the questionable things she did led her to Cisco. Leo and Mateo wouldn’t exist if not for Team Flash’s brushes with the Rogues Gallery.

“How could you possibly know that?”

She smiled at him. “Like I said, you’re just like Lenny. And he is the very best big brother. Trust me on that.”

“He’s a good uncle, too,” he replied.

Lisa finished making the mountain of sandwiches. She piled a few onto a plate and then covered the rested with plastic wrap. Afterwards she walked over to the table and had a seat across from her son. She picked up a sandwich and slid the late over to him.

Leo huffed. “I’ve eaten three sandwiches, Mom.”

She would never get tired of hearing Leo call her ‘Mom’. “Fine. Tell me about your fiancé. That’s quite a ring on her finger.”

“I can’t tell you anything about the future. We’re going to cause some sort of metacrisis,” he muttered.

Lisa laughed. “Maybe. But if Gideon is right, we obviously knew that you and Sofia would come back to the past one day. There’s a chance that future me has been waiting for this moment all your life.”

Leo could see why his father always lost arguments to his mother. Finally, he said, “Sofia and I have been friends our whole lives. I know it might be hard to imagine it now but in the future our families are very close.”

“Her father is the Green Arrow, right?” She bit into a sandwich with a happy sigh.

He nodded. Leo hoped that there wasn’t any bad blood between them at this point in the timeline. “He’s actually a lot less intense than he seems.”

Lisa smiled a little. “I know a little about Oliver Queen. He has his moments but we all do.”

“I’m surprised…”

“How much do you know about what happened when Lenny was in Iron Heights?”

The younger man tensed at the mention of his uncle’s time in prison. It wasn’t a subject that was discussed often in his family. Everything Leo knew about the situation, he had gleaned from snippets of conversations. After his uncle went to prison, the Santini family started rebuilding their organization. The new boss decided to target Lisa because she was in charge of the Rogues at the time. Things got so bad that she had to leave Central City. Unfortunately, they employed her ex-boyfriend, Roscoe Dillon, to track her down. He was jealous when he learned that Lisa had fallen in love with someone else. Everything spiraled out of control after that.

He muttered, “I know enough.”

Lisa rested a hand on her rounded stomach. She said, “Well, things could have gone a lot worse for us if not for Oliver’s intervention. He stepped up and protected Laila and me until Lenny broke out of prison. Oliver didn’t have to help us. I didn’t even know him at the time. We have mutual respect for each other now.”

Leo picked up a sandwich without even thinking about it.

Lisa gave him a knowing smile.

“So have you and Sofia set a wedding date yet?” Lisa prodded.

Leo gave up on discouraging his mother. She wouldn’t stop until her curiosity was satisfied. He said, “We haven’t exactly had time to set a date. I proposed recently…knowing exactly when is a little complicated since we have been time traveling.”

“Well, she seems nice. And Laila certainly likes her.”

He gave his mother a skeptical look. “You have already grilled Laila about me and Sofia.”

She laughed and said, “Of course I did, sweetie.”

The communicator on Leo’s wrist started beeping. He pressed a button and asked, “What’s going on, Gideon?”

“It’s time, Captain Ramon,” Gideon replied.

Leo stood up quickly. “Thanks. Round up the team for me, Gideon. Tell them to meet me at the rally point.”

“Right away, Captain.”

Lisa struggled to stand up since the chair didn’t have arms. These days she needed a sturdy surface to push up.

Leo helped his mother out of the chair because it looked as if she might tip over.

She said, “Thank you. I want you to be careful out there.”

He said, “You don’t need to worry. We’ll avoid the other metahumans completely.”

Lisa smoothed down his unruly mop of hair. She smiled said, “Oh, I am not worried about the metahumans. You had better make sure that Lenny is unconscious before you approach him or Barry. You saw what he did to Rainbow Raider earlier. And Roy was a known threat so he knew how much force to use to stop him. You will be an unknown factor…”

Leo wrinkled his nose at the metahuman’s name.

She laughed. “Don’t look at me that way. Your father is the one that does the naming thing. Anyway, Lenny won’t hesitate to do serious bodily harm to anyone that is trying to hurt Barry. Just make sure that he is actually unconscious. He has a high tolerance for most sedatives and he’s been known to play possum to get the drop on his enemies. Just give it a tick before moving in on them.”

He nodded dutifully. “I’ll make sure to recalibrate the dose with Gideon’s help. She’s been overseeing Uncle Lenny’s health aboard the time ships for years. She will make sure that we have the right dose.”

“Okay,” Lisa said.

“Aren’t you going to wish me luck?” he asked facetiously.

Lisa haughtily flipped her hair. “You’re my son, you don’t need luck. You have skills and good genes on your side. Carry on, my son.”

Leo chuckled and shook his head as he walked out of the break room. He climbed the stairs that led to the roof. They had designated the roof as the rally point because it had a great view of where the majority of the chaos was centered.

He pressed the button on his communicator. “Gideon? Have you double checked the dosages we will need for my uncles? My mom mentioned that Uncle Lenny has a high tolerance for sedatives.”

“Yes, sir. I have considered all of the relevant facts while determining the correct dosages,” Gideon replied. The AI sounded affronted by the suggestion that she hadn’t done her job properly.

“Thank you, Gideon,” Leo replied in amusement as he pushed open the heavy metal door. The arctic whipped around Leo as soon as he stepped onto the roof. The blizzard had covered the roof’s surface with almost a foot of snow.

They would have to clear off the snow at some point. The blizzard would last for a few more days and the additional weight could compromise the roof’s integrity.

William and Laila were already on the roof. They were dressed in disguises that resembled the garb worn by the League of Assassins. They would be joining the fight to ensure that the metahumans didn’t gain the upper hand once Captain Cold and the Flash were out of commission.

She smiled at her nephew. “Did you have fun with Lisa?”

Leo scowled at Laila but there was no heat behind it. “Is no one worried about a metacrisis?”

She shrugged. “Gideon will let us know if there is too much foreknowledge floating around.”

“She made me eat three and ½ sandwiches,” he complained.

Laila barked out a laugh. She taunted him, “That’s because you are her special little man.”

Sofia walked out onto the roof with Dick trailing behind her. She had her bow and quiver with her. “Are we all set?”

Leo nodded and said, “Yeah. Does everyone remember their roles? We don’t really have a wide margin for error.”

William smiled. “Everyone knows what to do. More importantly, we all know what is at stake.” He gave a meaningful look to his younger sister. “We’ve got this, Leo.”

Sofia walked up to Leo and squeezed his hand. “He’s right.”

Leo kissed his fiancé. Afterwards he took the bow and quiver from her. “Ready?”

“To merge with you, Ramon?”she asked. “Always…”

They activated their tachyon bracelets and merged. A ball of fire swallowed the newly merged Firestorm. Then they hovered in mid-air for a moment as the initial flames died down. Leo said, “Let’s do this.”

William fired an arrow at a nearby building. Then he grabbed onto Laila’s waist and rode the zip line across the street. They landed with a thud on the snow-covered pavement and immediately began fighting the growing contingent of metahumans. It seemed as if the majority of them were from Earth-2 now. Zoom would be making an appearance soon.

Leo warned, “Make sure my uncles are unconscious before moving in, Dick.”

Nightwing did a mock salute and then followed behind them on the zipline. His role was crucial. He had to stay out of sight until the Flash and Captain Cold were down. Then he had to protect them from the metahumans until Leo and Sofia collected them.

Firestorm 2.0 flew to a rooftop that was closer to the fray. They landed and promptly separated. Leo knew his way around a bow and arrow. However, they would need Sofia’s precision to hit their targets with one shot each. If they failed on the first try, there might not be a second opportunity.

Sofia prepared a tranquilizer dart that also contained a massive dose of nanites. The mixture would sedate the Flash but also remove his speed for a few days. Sofia planned to target him first. Leonard was the more dangerous and tactically efficient target, but Barry’s super speed made up for some of his deficits. Barry would be able to reach them within seconds if he located their position.

Meanwhile on the ground, Captain Cold was suspicious of the two hooded figures. Into his comm, he asked, “Does anyone know who our new friends are?”

Green Arrow replied, “They are associates of mine from the League of Assassins. I thought we might need extra hands tonight.”

Captain Cold’s brows furrowed. While the answer had been given smoothly, it didn’t seem plausible. The roads into Central City weren’t exactly passable. How did those two possibly make it into the city? Something felt off to him. Len whirled around looking for Barry but the snowing was falling hard again. “Where are you, Scarlet?”

_“I’m right….”_

Barry’s reply cut out as the tranquilizer dart hit him in the neck. He ripped the dart out and threw it to the ground. Unfortunately, the damage was already done. Barry could feel himself slowing down.

Len felt his blood run cold. “What’s going on, kid?”

His question was met with silence.

“Anyone got eyes on the…” Len stopped speaking when a tranquilizer dart struck his neck. He didn’t know what was in the dart but he knew that it was powerful. His eyelids started getting heavy immediately.

Dick counted to 30 before he rushed out of his hiding place and pulled the Flash and Captain Cold to safety in an alleyway. “I’m in position!”

Back on the roof, Leo clapped. “Nice job…as always.”

Sofia pantomimed doing a curtsey. “Thank you.” 


	33. Love Shack: Part I

**Central City--2016**

****

Len slowly began to regain consciousness as the powerful sedative dissipated. As his senses returned, he knew immediately that someone had drugged him. His mouth was dry and his head felt as if it had been stuffed with cotton. There was also the telltale throbbing pain in his neck from being stabbed with a hypodermic needle. Len took his time moving into a sitting position. He knew from experience that the nasty side effects of sedatives could linger until the drugs left the body completely. He blinked in the darkness as he tried to make sense of his surroundings. The last thing he remembered was fighting metahumans near STAR Labs in Central City. However, the thick collection of trees looming overhead indicated that he was no longer in the city.

Len pressed on his earwig and asked, “Hello? Can anyone hear me?”

However, he was greeted with silence. He knew it would not be that easy to get out of whatever mess he was in now. Someone had gone to a great deal of trouble to relocate him and the thief wanted to know why. He gingerly checked his body for injuries. The first bit of good news was that he found only the normal bumps and bruises associated with fighting. He was healthy enough to begin moving around to explore his surroundings. Len knew that he couldn’t have been in the snow for too long because he could still feel all of his extremities. If he had been outside for an hour or more he would have developed hypothermia.

As he moved to stand up, Leonard remembered that he had lost contact with Barry shortly before he lost consciousness. A cold feeling washed over him and it had nothing to do with the icy wind whipping around his body. If he had to make an educated guess, someone had targeted Barry first since he was a speedster. The very thought of anyone going after Barry infuriated Leonard. He was going to find the person responsible for this and tear them limb from limb—literally. When he finally got to his feet, he groaned at the way his head swam. However, Len forced himself to push through the disorientation. Someone had dumped him out there for a reason. There was a chance that his captors had left Barry nearby, too. He was worried about what the sub zero temperatures would do to the speedster.

He walked a few feet and noticed his cold gun lying in the snow. He picked up the gun and checked to make sure it still worked. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. He didn’t understand why someone would kidnap him but leave him armed. It seemed like a stupid move. However, the person that executed his kidnapping obviously was not stupid. Therefore, this decision had to have been a calculated one. Leonard just didn’t understand the motivation—yet. He continued walking until a small building came into view. Suddenly, he knew exactly where he was. Unfortunately, his location brought even more perplexing questions.

Len did not get long to dwell on those unanswered questions because he heard a groan a few feet away from his position. His head snapped in the direction of the sound. Barry’s bright red suit stuck out like a sore thumb against the stark white backdrop. Len’s brain wanted him to move faster. However, his body was sluggish from the residual sedatives in his system and the cold temperatures. He slowly marched through the thick blanket of snow until he reached Barry. The speedster was just beginning to awaken. Leonard dropped to his knees in exhaustion and lightly shook the younger man’s shoulder.

Barry’s teeth were chattering despite his being on the edge of consciousness.

“You’ve gotta wake up, kid,” Len said in a thick voice. His tongue felt heavy and uncoordinated.

Barry’s eyes opened at the sound of Leonard’s voice. He groaned again and sat up much too fast. He immediately paid for it when his vision blurred. “What happened?” he asked.

“We’ve been kidnapped,” he replied.

The speedster cocked his head to the side and then looked around. A strange feeling coiled deep within his stomach. He asked, “Where are our kidnappers? Did you….?”

“No, I didn’t kill them, Barry. I would have if they were here but I haven’t seen or heard anyone else. I guess they could be in the cabin but that is doubtful. Anyway, we are about to find out because we need to get you out of the snow.”

Barry blinked as his brain tried to keep up with Leonard. He clamored to his feet as if he were a newborn calf. Every muscle in his body felt tight because of the unforgiving cold. He wondered how long he had been lying in the snow. “Have you tried the comms?”

Leonard was slow to get to his feet once more. He said, “It was the first thing I did, kid. No dice.”

Barry tried to activate his comm just to be sure. However, he could tell it was dead. In fact, it seemed that all of his suit’s electronic functions were down. Cisco had built a default mechanism into the suit. The heating element was supposed to activate if Barry’s core temperature dropped below a certain threshold. He muttered, “EMP.”

The older man was already walking in the direction of the cabin. He looked over his shoulder when he heard Barry’s muffled voice. “What did you say?”

Barry grunted as he trudged through the snow to catch up to Len. He said, “I said EMP. It means…”

Len rolled his eyes. “I know what it means. What about it?”

“It’s not just the comms. My suit is fried. Whoever did this used an EMP on us.”

He huffed in response. “None of this makes sense. Let’s get inside.”

The two men made the relatively short trek to the hunting cabin. There was something off about the building but Len couldn’t immediately put his finger on it.

Len tried the door and found it unlocked. He pushed it open and slowly walked into the simple wooden structure. He hadn’t been there since he was a kid. The hunting cabin had actually belonged to his grandfather first. Lewis started using it years ago for a myriad of purposes—none of which were hunting. Most often, his used the cabin to hide out after pulling a job or if he needed to plan something big.

“Stay here,” he ordered in a tight voice.

The thief slowly moved through the one bedroom cabin looking for booby traps or the people that kidnapped them. However, after several minutes of careful searching he came up empty.

Len walked back into the living area to find Barry fiddling with a lantern. “I told you to stay outside.”

The speedster merely shrugged as he continued trying to get the lantern to work. Soon light burst forward in the room. Barry’s eyes immediately honed in on the stack of firewood. “At least we can build a fire.”

Everything about this situation made Len uneasy. Nothing about this was making sense. He closed the door that Barry had left wide open and then locked it. “Do you know how to build a fire, Scarlet?”

The younger man gave an indignant huff as he marched over to the fireplace. “Of course, I know how to build a fire. I mean…it’s fire. Cavemen built fires.”

Len cocked an eyebrow at the younger man’s bravado and shook his head. “Well, then by all means get to it. I am going to see if I can find blankets or clothes. We are going to have to get out of what we are wearing now. The clothes are wet from the snow. Pneumonia and hypothermia are at the very bottom of the list of things we need now.”

He walked out of the room fairly certain that there wouldn’t be a fire when he returned. Len walked into the tiny bedroom where a rickety double bed was pushed up against the far wall. A small wood burning stove stood in the corner. Len moved over to a wooden chest at the bottom of the bed. He was grateful to find several thick blankets.

Len stacked the blankets at the foot of the bed and moved over to a chest of drawers. He searched for clothes and found a few pieces that looked almost as old as he was. Len wondered if they belonged to Lewis or perhaps his grandfather. He walked back to the living room after collecting the clothes and blankets.

As predicted, Barry was kneeling in front of the fireplace muttering as he failed to start a fire. The younger man stood up and pulled back his cowl. “Not a word out of you,” he huffed.

Len smirked. “But cavemen were capable of starting fires.”

Barry rolled his eyes. “Can you start a fire or will we freeze to death?”

The older man chuckled as he walked over to the fireplace. He opened a small door that covered a cubbyhole. As he expected, there was a box of matches tucked inside.

“How did you know that would be there?” Barry asked.

“Call it a hunch,” Len replied. He crouched in front of the fireplace and restacked the wood.

Barry watched with interest as Snart started a fire as if he had done it a million times before. He made a point to add that to a mental list he was compiling. He had dozens of questions that he wanted to ask Len about his past. However, he understood that the past was a touchy subject. He would just have to peel back the layers of his brooding thief slowly. Barry had no doubt that Leonard would be worth the effort. He had to admit that there wasn’t anyone else he would want to be stranded with right now.

Len stood up once the fire was roaring properly. “I found some blankets and old clothes tucked in the bedroom.”

“Do you think someone lives here?” he asked. Barry walked over to inspect the items.

The older man shook his head as he pulled off his parka. He dragged a chair across the room and draped the coat over it. “I think someone is squatting here.”

“What’s the difference?” Barry asked curiously.

He said, “A squatter is someone that lives in a previously unoccupied property that is owned by someone else. This cabin is owned by someone else.”

Barry stopped pulling off his suit and looked at Leonard. “How do you know that?”

“My sister owns this cabin…not that she would ever come out here. She inherited this place after I killed Lewis. By rights, it should have gone to me…being the oldest child and all. But there is a pesky law on the books that says you can’t benefit from a murder you committed. Therefore, the probate court dumped this cabin on Lisa.”

The speedster blinked in surprise. “The two of us being left here can’t be a coincidence.”

“No, it is not,” he agreed.

There was a sudden whoosh from outside. The sound was almost familiar to both men but neither could identify it at the moment.

Barry asked, “Did you hear that?”

The two men rushed outside just in time to see a metahuman hovering high above the trees. The flames burned so brightly that his or her body appeared to be a ball of fire. Then just as quickly as the metahuman arrived, he or she flew off into the night.

“Could that have been Firestorm?” Len asked.

Barry shook his head. “It sort of looked like Firestorm but the flames were a slightly different color. I think that person was burning hotter than I have ever seen Dr. Stein and Jax burn.”

Snart looked toward the darkened sky and said, “We should go inside. We need to warm up. Then we can start figuring out what happened and why we are here.”

Barry looked to the sky once more and then nodded. “You’re right.”


End file.
